Test Bank for Looking at Moviesm, 6th edition, Dave Monahan
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MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is most likely to draw an audience to a movie?
a. an established director
b. a blockbuster screenwriter
c. a famous actor
d. special effects
e. a cinematographer
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 236
MSC: Remembering
TOP: What Is Acting?
2. American screen actor Joan Crawford’s statement, “A movie star paints with the tiniest brush,” suggests that
a. painters and screen actors approach their art similarly.
b. a close-up will never provide the intimacy of an actor’s performance on stage.
c. the primary artist of a film is an actor.
d. the camera captures an actor’s most subtle facial expressions.
e. screen actors have complete control of details.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 237
MSC: Applying
TOP: What Is Acting?
3. Director/screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson enjoys an unusually close collaboration with his actors and is able to elicit exceptional performances because
a. he improvises with actors during a long rehearsal period.
b. he writes parts specifically for the actors he hopes to cast.
c. he does not storyboard since he believes it interferes with the blocking of actors.
d. he relies on the Stanislavsky system to elicit sense memories from his actors.
e. his extensive experience directing theater helps him.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 237
MSC: Remembering
TOP: What Is Acting?
4. Experienced screen actors know their most essential relationship is with the
a. audience.
b. camera.
c. editor.
d. director.
e. production designer.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 237
TOP: The Camera and the Close-up MSC: Remembering
5. Which of the following is one of the challenges movie actors generally confront?
a. projecting their voices to the crew
b. getting interrupted by camera, lighting, and sound adjustments
c. avoiding subtle facial expressions
d. shooting in sequence
e. only getting one chance to perform a scene
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 238
MSC: Remembering
6. Tom Cruise, Amy Schumer, and Will Smith are defined by their
a. identifiable personae, which they carry from role to role.
TOP: Movie Actors
b. ability to completely reinvent themselves on screen.
c. interest in playing characters who defy our expectations of them.
d. reputations as strong nonnaturalistic actors.
e. ability to bring verisimilitude to the parts they play.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 238 TOP: Movie Actors
MSC: Remembering
7. Johnny Depp’s acting career is unusual because he has attained star status
a. despite his reluctance to play varied roles.
b. yet primarily has worked with only one director.
c. without winning any Academy Awards.
d. despite his selection of roles in noncommercial films.
e. without any fixed persona.
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 240 TOP: Movie Actors
MSC: Applying
8. When William Wyler cast nonprofessional actor Harold Russell, who had lost both arms in World War II, to play a World War II veteran in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946),
a. the other actors were surprised by Russell’s use of the Meisner technique.
b. Russell had to work very hard to get into character.
c. audiences had difficulty seeing the autobiographical similarities.
d. Russell believed his extensive acting training helped him.
e. Russell almost stole the movie away from professional actors.
ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 241 TOP: Movie Actors
MSC: Remembering
9. What technique does Meryl Streep use to get into character?
a. She views meticulous storyboards to help her work with the camera.
b. She tries to find the similarities between herself and the character.
c. She analyzes her previous roles thoroughly.
d. She shares life stories with the director to feel more comfortable being vulnerable.
e. She improvises every scene to keep a feeling of spontaneity.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 241–242
TOP: Movie Actors MSC: Remembering
10. In the very first movies, people on the screen were
a. vaudevillian performers.
b. stage actor dropouts.
c. fresh-faced amateurs.
d. ordinary people playing themselves.
e. magicians.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 242
TOP: The Evolution of Screen Acting MSC: Remembering
11. Why did the first screen actors use exaggerated gestures, emphatic expressions, and the mouthing of words to bring their characters to life?
a. This was the standard visual language of cinematic expression.
b. Film directors told them to act this way.
c. This was the accepted comic style of the time.
d. They were adapting the acting style of nineteenth-century theater.
e. They were following the Italian national film style.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 242
TOP: The Evolution of Screen Acting MSC: Remembering
12. Which director is correctly paired with his preferred style?
a. Stanley Kubrick emphasized intellectual analysis and counseled actors to think, not act.
b. Terrence Malick encourages actors to identify with characters in a Method acting style.
c. Brian De Palma favors spontaneity and encourages improvisation.
d. Robert Altman meticulously storyboarded and pushed actors to see their performance cinematographically.
e. Elia Kazan moved characters around the set like pawns on a chessboard.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 242 TOP: Movie Actors
MSC: Remembering
13. How did the first on-screen appearance of the great theatrical actor Sarah Bernhardt affect the film industry’s development?
a. She was a natural on camera and invented the art of screen acting.
b. Her sterling reputation as a theater actor carried over to make cinema respectable.
c. Her impatience with film production and general disdain for film slowed the industry’s development.
d. Her melodramatic style worked beautifully with the intimacy of the camera.
e. Her technique invoked a range of emotions never before seen.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 243
TOP: The Evolution of Screen Acting MSC: Remembering
14. Who was responsible for inventing the art of screen acting?
a. Mary Pickford
b. Sarah Bernhardt and Clément Maurice
c. Lillian Gish, under D. W. Griffith’s guidance
d. the Art Film Society
e. F. W. Murnau
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 243
TOP: D. W. Griffith and Lillian Gish MSC: Remembering
15. Why is Lillian Gish’s portrayal of Lucy Burrows in Broken Blossoms (1919) generally acknowledged to be the first great film performance by an actor?
a. Her voice training allowed her to fully inhabit the role.
b. Her restraint of emotion was unprecedented.
c. She perfectly illustrated expressive incoherence.
d. She displayed a range of emotions not previously seen on screen.
e. Her intellectualization of the role created a distance between her and the audience.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 244
TOP: D. W. Griffith and Lillian Gish MSC: Remembering
16. Which of the following is not a characteristic of great screen acting?
a. expressive coherence
b. wholeness
c. inherent thoughtfulness and emotionality
d. disunity
e. appropriateness
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 244
TOP: D. W. Griffith and Lillian Gish MSC: Remembering
17. How did Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly satirize the film industry in Singin’ in the Rain (1952)?
a. It critiqued the growing production design budgets.
b. It made fun of the dueling studios.
c. It mocked how self-centered movie stars can be.
d. It poked fun at the difficult transition from silent to sound production.
e. It made fun of our reverence for auteurs.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 245 TOP: The Influence of Sound
MSC: Applying
18. Which of the following posed no challenge for the transition from silent to sound production in films?
a. stationary microphones
b. lighting equipment
c. poor-quality recording
d. actors’ voices and accents
e. camera noise
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 245 TOP: The Influence of Sound
MSC: Remembering
19. What sound innovation did Rouben Mamoulian introduce in Applause (1929)?
a. He used one actor’s voice to replace another.
b. It was his brainchild to hide microphones in flowerpots.
c. He was the first to use the blimp when recording.
d. He had his sound technicians record overlapping dialogue with multiple microphones.
e. He concealed microphones in the bodices of actors’ gowns.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 245–246
TOP: The Influence of Sound MSC: Remembering
20. Which of the following describes a typical contract arrangement between a studio and its stable of actors?
a. A studio could choose to fire or rehire an actor under contract every six months.
b. Studios locked actors into ten-year option contracts.
c. A studio could never change an actor’s name.
d. Studios had contracts that allowed actors to move to another studio if they did not like the roles being offered to them.
e. Studios would allow actors to control their image and likeness in advertising and publicity.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 246–247
TOP: Acting in the Classical Studio Era MSC: Remembering
21. Who are Marion Morrison, Issur Danielovitch Demsky, and Archibald Leach?
a. movie stars of the silent era
b. the original names of movie stars from the studio system era
c. the names of the three leads in the 1946 Best Picture winner, The Best Years of Our Lives
d. the heads of MGM, Paramount, and Columbia in the studio system era
e. the three individuals who devised the method style of acting
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 247
TOP: Acting in the Classical Studio Era
22. Which of the following describes what a movie star is?
a. zero flaws that endear them to ordinary people
b. a lack of comfort in front of the camera
c. the ability to make viewers “know” what they are thinking when a camera comes up close
d. an introverted actor who lacks screen charisma yet is very well trained
e. an actor who earns enormous sums of money but largely from nonfilm work
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 247–248
TOP: Acting in the Classical Studio Era MSC: Understanding
23. What distinguished Cary Grant from other Hollywood actors during the studio era?
a. He was the first actor to have his own production company.
b. He signed only two-year contracts with studios.
c. He was not under any studio contract.
d. He was one of the few top actors to not work with Alfred Hitchcock.
e. He won the most Academy Awards.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 248
TOP: Acting in the Classical Studio Era MSC: Applying
24. How does Elizabeth Taylor epitomize what it means to be a movie star?
a. She was a talented, glamorous Hollywood icon, yet had the power to keep her long marriage of fifty years private.
b. She had a late start, but her career’s meteoric rise kept her starring in hit after hit.
c. She starred in Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra (1963), one of the most lavish and expensive films, and made it a huge success.
d. She had a long career, won three Oscars, and remained a star even after she stopped acting.
e. She only starred in “classics,” and her sex appeal and beauty captivated the world.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 249
TOP: Acting in the Classical Studio Era MSC: Applying
25. The Stanislavsky system of acting trained students to
a. strive for surrealism.
b. understand their characters’ background and psychology.
c. avoid their unconscious.
d. embrace a nonnaturalistic style.
e. disconnect from emotion and intellectualize their roles.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 249 TOP: Method Acting
MSC: Remembering
26. The method (or method acting) did not make a major impact on Hollywood until the 1950s because
a. the studios were reliant on the star system and were not interested in the process of acting.
b. the Moscow Art Theater would not share its secret approach to acting.
c. the experimental Group Theater denounced its tenets.
d. Stella Adler was developing a rival approach to acting.
e. Hollywood was fearful of anything associated with the Soviet Union.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 249 TOP: Method Acting
MSC: Remembering
27. Which of the following performances is an example of method acting?
a. James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
b. Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story (1940)
c. Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet (1944)
d. Greta Garbo as Queen Christina in Queen Christina (1933)
e. Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950)
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 250 TOP: Method Acting
MSC: Remembering
28. Which of the following best characterizes a naturalistic style performance?
a. It appears excessive, exaggerated, or extreme.
b. It is outside of the normal range of human experience.
c. The acting is distancing and estranging.
d. The behavior is believable and recognizable.
e. Outlandish costumes, makeup, or hairstyles are common.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 250 TOP: Naturalistic and Nonnaturalistic Styles
MSC: Remembering
29. When actors are repeatedly given particular kinds of roles based on their looks rather than their talent or experience, they are
a. screen tested.
b. pigeonholed.
c. typecast.
d. stereotyped.
e. gambled on.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 251 TOP: Screen Acting Today
MSC: Remembering
30. How has the transition from studio production to independent production affected actors’ careers?
a. With the increase of major movies produced each year, actors have many more opportunities.
b. With the decrease of major movies produced each year, actors have had to supplement their film work.
c. With the increase of major movies produced each year, actors have less security but more freedom.
d. With more comedies produced each year, even more quality roles are available.
e. With the increase in musicals made, more actors are seeking voice and singing training.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 252
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Screen Acting Today
31. What is the biggest difference between the careers of Bette Davis, a major star during the studio era, and Nicole Kidman, a top star of today?
a. Bette Davis performed in many different genres, while Nicole Kidman acts mostly in period films.
b. Bette Davis worked with a broad range of directors, while Nicole Kidman works almost exclusively with Robert Benton.
c. Bette Davis made much more money from advertising work than Nicole Kidman does.
d. Bette Davis’s earning power was much greater than Nicole Kidman since studios were under contract to share a large percentage of profits.
e. Bette Davis fought for the roles she wanted to play, while Nicole Kidman takes advantage of her freedom to choose parts and has handpicked a broad range of characters.
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 252–254
TOP: Screen Acting Today MSC: Remembering
32. Unlike actors performing in the golden age of Hollywood, today’s superstars
a. may choose their roles and negotiate earnings.
b. have the security of a seven-year option contract.
c. enjoy a very close relationship to the editor.
d. have little control over their image in advertising and publicity.
e. must commit to work with only one studio.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 254 TOP: Screen Acting Today
MSC: Remembering
33. Today’s actors’ earnings are most influenced by their
a. talent.
b. training.
c. popularity with audiences.
d. experience.
e. connections.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 254 TOP: Screen Acting Today
MSC: Applying
34. An actor's popularity is judged primarily by box office receipts and
a. award nominations.
b. award wins.
c. popularity polls.
d. social media followers.
e. film reviews.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 254 TOP: Screen Acting Today
MSC: Remembering
35. In the 2016 Harris Poll of America’s favorite movie stars, who is the only actor in the top ten who made films starting in the 1920s?
a. Clark Gable
b. Bette Davis
c. Cary Grant
d. John Wayne
e. Charlie Chaplin
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 254 TOP: Screen Acting Today
36. While both John Wayne and Jeff Bridges can be described as icons of Hollywood, what is one of the biggest differences between their careers?
a. John Wayne worked within the security of the studio system, while Jeff Bridges jumps around within today’s independent system of movie production.
b. John Wayne averaged a movie per year in his forty-six-year career, while Jeff Bridges has made sixty-five films to date.
c. John Wayne starred exclusively in Westerns, and Jeff Bridges has starred in a variety of genres.
d. John Wayne never refused a part, and Jeff Bridges carefully selects roles that will enhance his off-screen image.
e. John Wayne was one of the youngest to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and Jeff Bridges is one of the oldest to win at age sixty.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 255 TOP: Screen Acting Today
MSC: Understanding
37. Moviegoers are most accepting of digital characters
a. that resemble stars they are familiar with.
b. that epitomize the uncanny valley.
c. in films where reality is more important than fantasy.
d. that do not represent recognizable human beings.
e. when they provide comic relief alongside real actors.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 256 TOP: Technology and Acting
MSC: Remembering
38. To play the identical Winklevoss twins in The Social Network (2010), David Fincher cast Armie Hammer and Josh Pence and then used ________ to ensure their facial similarity.
a. makeup
b. synesthesia
c. digital grafting
d. breathable masks
e. 3-D imaging
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 256–257
TOP: Technology and Acting MSC: Remembering
39. What is often the most important factor in determining a film’s financial success?
a. casting
b. the story
c. special effects
d. the director
e. the sound track
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 258
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Factors Involved in Casting
40. Actor Franklin Pangborn, while never a household name, became instantly recognizable because
a. he made many appearances with Jack Russell terriers.
b. he made hilarious cameos.
c. he performed many dangerous stunts.
d. he repeatedly played distinctive types as a character actor.
e. his unusual eyes were always featured prominently.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 258
MSC: Applying
41. Why are stand-ins used when shooting a film?
a. to double for stars in scenes that require special skills
TOP: Types of Roles
b. to substitute for stars during the more tedious aspects of the shoot
c. to help move the plot forward
d. to bring a recognizable personality to the set
e. to feature a well-known actor briefly
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 259
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Types of Roles
42. Acting roles with little or no dialogue, reserved for highly recognizable actors or personalities, are known as
a. bit players.
b. extras.
c. cameos.
d. walk-ons.
e. stand-ins.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 259
43. Charlie Chaplin created his Tramp character
a. by building it “brick by brick.”
b. out of instinct.
c. through meticulous preparation.
d. starting with the costume.
e. using Stanislavsky’s emotional recall technique.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 260
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Types of Roles
TOP: Preparing for Roles
44. Director Sidney Lumet believed that great performances depended on
a. the ability of actors to reveal themselves on-screen.
b. actors’ understanding of the characters they are playing.
c. an intuitive sense of the character’s needs within the screenplay.
d. sharpened skills of observation and strong instincts.
e. a passion for synthesizing research with personal experience.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 260
MSC: Understanding
TOP: Preparing for Roles
45. Peter Lorre’s nonnaturalistic performance in the lead role of Hans Beckert in Fritz Lang’s M (1931) reflects the influence of
a. Konstantin Stanislavsky.
b. Bertolt Brecht.
c. F. W. Murnau.
d. Laurence Olivier.
e. Max Ophüls.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 263
TOP: Naturalistic and Nonnaturalistic Styles
46. In Lars von Trier’s Dogville (2003), actor Paul Bettany frequently
a. employs outlandish costumes.
b. behaves in a very self-conscious and comic manner.
c. stares off camera with no expression.
d. breaks the fourth wall.
e. exaggerates his emotions.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 263
TOP: Naturalistic and Nonnaturalistic Styles
MSC: Remembering
MSC: Remembering
47. Which of the following is considered to be a component of improvisational acting?
a. actors’ ability to stop performing if they stumble on their lines
b. an isolation between actors and directors
c. preprogrammed performance
d. strict adherence to the screenplay
e. sense of discovery, which comes from the unexpected
ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 264
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Improvisational Acting
48. Without ________, Travis Bickle would not say, “You talking to me?” in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976).
a. screenwriter Paul Schrader
b. improvisation by Robert De Niro
c. Martin Scorsese’s suggestion
d. the production designer’s idea to use a mirror in the scene
e. the cinematographer’s lens choice
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 265
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Improvisational Acting
49. How did director Werner Herzog create what he called “an atmosphere of hallucination, prophecy, visionary and collective madness” on the set of Heart of Glass (1976)?
a. His contempt for actors was so great that the cast threatened to quit almost every day.
b. He hypnotized the entire cast each day.
c. He articulated each actor’s unconscious needs to the entire crew.
d. His insistence on thousands of takes drove his actors insane.
e. He directed on location of a circus.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 266 TOP: Directors and Actors
MSC: Remembering
50. What is the impact of Orson Welles’s decision to use a long take in the inciting moment of Citizen Kane (1941)?
a. It expedites the shooting of the scene since mistakes are easily remedied.
b. It shortens the length of the scene.
c. It encourages ensemble acting that calls attention to acting, not editing between shots.
d. It makes it easier for the actors to rehearse the blocking of the scene.
e. It defuses the tension of the scene since the actors quickly leave the frame.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 267
TOP: Framing, Composition, Lighting, and the Long Take MSC: Applying
51. Why is ensemble acting, which emphasizes the collaborative interaction of a group of actors, and not the work of an individual actor used less in the movies?
a. It requires the provision of rehearsal time that is usually denied to screen actors.
b. Film directors generally prefer individual acting moments over ensemble ones.
c. Actors generally do not want to share the screen with other actors.
d. Ensemble acting can reduce the emotional impact of a specific plot situation.
e. Ensemble acting does not lead to verisimilitude on the screen.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 269–270
TOP: Framing, Composition, Lighting, and the Long Take
52. Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) illustrates the power of
a. improvisation.
b. composition.
c. a long take.
d. the close-up.
e. ensemble acting.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 271
TOP: The Camera and the Close-up MSC: Remembering
53. What is a film actor’s most basic skill?
a. understanding how to reveal him- or herself to the camera during a close-up
b. developing a rapport with the audience
c. collaborating with the actors on the set
d. communicating with the director
e. translating the screenwriter’s vision of the character
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 271
TOP: The Camera and the Close-up MSC: Remembering
54. How do actors best reveal themselves to the camera during a close-up?
a. They step back from the camera.
b. They pay attention to how their entire bodies contribute to the shot.
c. They focus on the power of even the slightest facial gesture.
d. They gesticulate wildly.
e. They project their voices.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 271
TOP: The Camera and the Close-up MSC: Applying
55. Because a screen actor delivers slightly different performances on each take, the ________ has considerable power of shaping it in postproduction.
a. actor.
b. cinematographer.
c. marketing team.
d. editor.
e. casting director.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 272 TOP: Acting and Editing
MSC: Remembering
56. What does transparency mean when used to describe an actor’s performance?
a. The character is so clearly recognizable that the actor becomes, in a sense, invisible.
b. The character appears to be a blank slate upon which the audience may project.
c. The actor’s vulnerability is so apparent that our identification with the character increases.
d. The actor is illuminated so that the character appears to be radiant.
e. The actor’s characterization holds together, creating an expressive coherence.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 274–275
TOP: Looking at Acting MSC: Remembering
57. How did Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling prepare for the scenes of their marriage falling apart in Blue Valentine (2010)?
a. They spent a month “living” their roles together in the house used for the actual shooting.
b. They went to a marriage counselor in character.
c. They shot the scenes unrehearsed with seldom more than one take for each.
d. They allowed the director to verbally abuse them until they were in the correct emotional state for each scene.
e. Through careful script analysis they learned the motivation and proper delivery of each line.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 277
TOP: Looking at Acting Michelle Williams MSC: Applying
58. What was unique about the production process for the low-budget, independent Blue Valentine (2010)?
a. It was shot in three stages according to the state of the characters’ relationships.
b. It was shot over the course of the three years.
c. The majority of the film is done in long takes.
d. The film is a combination of naturalistic and non-naturalistic acting styles.
e. The film contains a number of two-minute long close-ups.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 277
TOP: Looking at Acting Michelle Williams
59. How does Michelle Williams primarily convey the thought process and feelings of the character she plays in Blue Valentine (2010)?
a. with her choice of wardrobe
b. by varying her vocal quality
c. with makeup
d. through gesture and physical movement
e. by her handling of props
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Page 278
TOP: Looking at Acting Michelle Williams
MSC: Remembering
60. In which of the following films did the directors insist the actors not stray from the script?
a. Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris (1972)
b. Robert Altman’s Gosford Park (2001)
c. Ethan and Joel Coen’s Fargo (1996)
d. Mike Leigh’s Another Year (2010)
e. John Cassavetes’s Gloria (1980)
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 287 TOP: Screen Acting Today
MSC: Applying
ESSAY
1. Explain how the particular demands of film production make it especially challenging for actors to create convincing screen performances.
ANS:
Actors perform out of sequence, doing multiple takes for multiple camera setups, sometimes in isolation, often positioning themselves for the camera in ways that do not feel natural or comfortable. This fragmented performance approach makes it tough to stay in character.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 237–238
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Movie Actors
2. Explain the fundamental differences between acting for the stage and the screen.
ANS:
Stage actors perform uninterrupted and directly to the audience in sequential order, while screen actors play to the camera, doing multiple takes, according to an often nonlinear shooting schedule in front of a crew. Stage actors have complete control of their performances, while film directors and editors shape and sculpt a film actor’s performance. The camera creates a greater naturalism and intimacy than is possible on stage.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 237–238
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Movie Actors
3. How do actors breathe life into the characters they play? Provide an example from the text of how an actor prepares for a role.
ANS:
Screen acting is a mysterious and magical art. Most actors, such as three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, rarely discuss how they act, for fear they will no longer be able to do it. It is a highly idiosyncratic process, which draws upon an actor’s imagination, experience, emotions, psychology, memory, intelligence, training, technique, and body language to realize the character created by the screenwriter. Examples may include how Jack Nicholson draws on his subconscious or how Jodie Foster works from instinct. A good response may also mention how Gena Rowlands improvised in her collaborations with John Cassavetes or how Marlon Brando used the method.
DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 237–242
MSC: Applying
TOP: What Is Acting?
4. Explain why English film actor Michael Caine has compared the movie camera to an impossibly attentive lover. Provide an example of an actor’s performance from the text to support your answer.
ANS:
The camera can capture an actor’s most intimate and revealing moments, even when they are small. The camera misses nothing, especially in a close-up. In fact, it is a screen actor’s most important collaborator. Examples from the textbook include how the close-ups of Maria Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and of Marlene Dietrich in Morocco (1930) are used.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 237, 270–272
TOP: What Is Acting? | The Camera and the Close-up
5. Explain why great acting is said to look effortless.
ANS:
MSC: Applying
Great actors completely inhabit a character so that they become transparent, making only the character visible to the audience. To see actors perform, let alone put great effort into acting, would shatter this illusion. A good answer might also include a definition of great acting using the criteria outlined in the text as well as a discussion of how actors prepare for roles.
DIF: Difficult REF: Page 242 TOP: Movie Actors
MSC: Understanding
6. Explain how the advent of sound in the film industry affected actors.
ANS:
It was a very challenging transition, and like most innovations, it was two steps forward but also one step backward. Not all actors (and their voices) could make the transition. Some actors needed vocal training, but recording their voices became an even bigger challenge. Actors’ movements were constrained by the camera, which had to be enclosed to muffle its sound, as well as by the placement of the concealed microphones.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 244–246
MSC: Remembering
TOP: The Influence of Sound
7. How has the casting process changed since the golden years of Hollywood?
ANS:
Studios used to keep actors under contract and would use them instead of finding new actors more suitable for the roles. White actors were routinely cast to play other ethnicities and very few roles were offered to women over forty. Predatory and unscrupulous studio heads, producers, and directors would also use the “casting couch” to see which actors would trade sex for work. Modern casting is handled by a casting director, who must have a strong sense of which actors are right for a role and must act as a liaison between the actors and the directors, producers, and writers.
DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 257–258
MSC: Understanding
TOP: Casting Actors
8. Explain why Laurence Olivier, one of the greatest stage and screen actors of the twentieth century, defined acting as “convincing lying.”
ANS:
Despite Olivier’s meticulous preparation for roles, he did not value theories of acting, nor did he want to demystify his art. In order to give a strong performance, he believed he needed to love the characters he played. This suggests how he used himself as an instrument to reveal the characters. A good answer will also mention how he inhabited the characters he played so fully that he blurred the line between his life and “acting.” For example, when asked how he created the film performance of Henry V, he replied, “I don’t know: I’m England, that’s all.”
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 261–262
MSC: Applying
TOP: Preparing for Roles
9. Why might a director choose to employ nonnaturalistic performances?
ANS:
Nonnaturalistic performances can be used to draw the audience into the world of the story, especially if that world is exaggerated or strange as it was in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990). Directors such as Fritz Lang or Lars von Trier have drawn from Bertolt Brecht to create performances that alienate the character from the audience. Conversely, many directors have chosen to break the fourth wall in order to endear their characters to the audience or simply to achieve comic effect.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 262–264
TOP: Naturalistic and Nonnaturalistic Styles
10. Why might a director choose to have actors improvise a scene?
ANS:
MSC: Applying
Improvisation can be an effective tool when creating a naturalistic performance. Improvisation can add energy to an overly rehearsed performance. Actors and directors can use improvisation in rehearsal to create the character. Some directors, like John Cassavetes, might use improvisation to rewrite weak dialogue. Others, like Martin Scorsese, use improvisation in rehearsal to figure out how to shoot a scene. Improvisation can also lead to wonderful moments not conceived by the writer or director, such as Peter Sellers’s “I can walk!” from Dr. Strangelove (1964) or Jack Nicholson’s “Heeeere’s Johnny!” from The Shining (1980).
DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 264–265
MSC: Applying
TOP: Improvisational Acting
11. Despite acting’s central importance to filmmaking, explain why directors have the least precise control over it.
ANS: Directors can be literal with other collaborators (such as costume designers or cinematographers); however, with actors, they can only suggest what they want.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 265–266
MSC: Remembering
TOP: Directors and Actors
12. Explain how editors may have more control over molding a performance than a director or even an actor.
ANS: Editors create the emotional continuity of an actor’s performance by carefully selecting, arranging, and juxtaposing the many and varied takes to craft a cohesive whole. Editors can save performances by cutting around weaker takes and also control how much screen time an actor has. While they play a vital role in crafting an actor’s performance, ironically, the truly great editors make themselves invisible and their cuts seamless.
DIF: Moderate REF: Page 272 TOP: Acting and Editing
MSC: Remembering
13. Describe some good ways to assess an actor’s performance.
ANS:
Although there is no objective list of standards that would apply equally to every performance, there are a number of factors we can take into consideration. Is the actor's speech movement and gesture appropriate for that of the character? Does the actor convey the thoughts or feelings that motivate the character’s actions? Is there coherence between the physical and emotional aspects of the performance? Has the actor maintained the illusion of a seamless character throughout the entire film?
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 272–275
TOP: Looking at Acting MSC: Understanding
14. Why is our perception of the quality of the acting so important in our evaluation of a film?
ANS:
Characters are the way into any story. We identify with a protagonist (and the actor who plays the character), and we become engrossed with his or her struggle to get what he or she wants. We process human behavior on an unconscious level in our everyday lives, and we continue to do this when we are watching movies.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 274–275
TOP: Looking at Acting MSC: Applying
15. Using the film Blue Valentine (2010), explain how its unique production schedule helped to shape performances.
ANS:
The student should mention how Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling were executive producers and devised a three-stage process for shooting the film, which significantly shaped the performances we see on-screen. In the first stage, all of the happy scenes of the relationship were shot, without rehearsals, on film stock. This helped to capture a lighter, more romantic dynamic. In the second stage, Williams, Gosling, and Faith Wladyka “lived their parts” for a month, in the house used for shooting. They improvised scenes, and in this way were able to fully adopt the lives of their characters, at least during the day. (At night they returned to their respective real-life homes.) This approach helped to bring a truthfulness to the relationship that is not usually captured on-screen. The final stage of shooting depicted the marriage’s dissolution. These scenes were shot on digital media, which is bright and clinical-looking. Finally, footage from these three different stages was intercut to create a clear, yet nonlinear, arc of their relationship.
DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 275–278
TOP: Looking at Acting MSC: Applying