CHAPTER 18 – AMERICAN CINEMA IN THE 1990s
Multiple Choice
1. What was not true about the great success of James Cameron’s Titanic as it relates to the
economic climate of Hollywood?
a. the industry considered the film a near-death experience
b. the film was a co-production of two studios
c. others rushed to replicate the film’s success
d. none of the above
2. All of the following traits are true of the typical Tom Cruise screen character except
a. deluded
b. unmaterialistic
c. self-absorbed
d. none of the above
3. The kind of American movie that exported very successfully was
a. special effects extravaganzas
b. screwball sex comedies
c. courtroom melodramas
d. revisionist western and war stories
4. At the century’s end, the only free-standing independent studio was
a. Tri-Star
b. American International
c. Universal
d. Disney
5. Which of the following B-movie types gained A-movie status
a. horror movies
b. gross-out comedies
c. teen movies
d. all of the above
6. Many movies, anticipating being shown on TV, used more and more of which shot?
a. extreme long
b. full
c. close-up
d. medium
7. Foreign films of the 90s differed from American films in
a. tone
b. content
c. style
d. none of the above
8. Bright spots in American cinema production included
a. animation and CGI use
b. increased numbers from various races, genders, and sexual orientations as directors
c. both a and b
d. neither a nor b
9. What came to be clear about women making movies in the 90s was that
a. gender was more important than talent.
b. talent was more important than gender.
c. money was more important than talent.
d. money was more important than gender.
10. All of the following African-American directors of the 90s earned the right to not have to
succeed with every movie except
a. Will Smith
b. Forest Whitaker
c. Spike Lee
d. the Hughes brothers
11. While Steven Spielberg sometimes seeks to tell the truth in movies like Saving Private Ryan,
he can still get caught up in bad habits like
a. more visual style than the material calls for
b. improvising far too often
c. using open-ended story structure
d. underuse of sentimental music
12. Martin Scorsese makes movies which avoid
a. use of cursing.
b. use of violence.
c. use of striking images.
d. none of the above
13. Which of the following Woody Allen movies was very popular in Europe in the 90s?
a. Mighty Aphrodite
b. Husbands and Wives
c. Celebrity
d. Manhattan Murder Mystery
14. Perhaps the Clint Eastwood film that best shows his directorial skills in the 90s is
a. The Rookie
b. Absolute Power
c. A Perfect World
d. Unforgiven
15. Hollywood discovered that it could find artistically significant product in
a. revival film series
b. modern foreign films
c. independent films
d. made-for-television movies
16. Quentin Tarantino’s films which is “a rich, poignant, original cornucopia of dark delights” is
a. Pulp Fiction
b. Jackie Brown
c. Kill Bill, vol. 1
d. Reservoir Dogs
17. The director who has remained independent is
a. Kevin Smith
b. Victor Nunez
c. Terrence Malick
d. Steven Soderbergh
True/False
(Place a T or an F in the line following the sentence.)
1. Because fewer tickets were being sold than ever before, the movies that Hollywood produced
grew worse and worse qualitatively.
2. Hollywood responded to losing money on movies in the 1990s by improving the number and
quality of the movies being produced there.
3. Part of the appeal of movies has always been movement for movement’s sake, the principal
domain of action films.
4. Disney animated films — the good ones — make pop poetry out of the bond between humans
and animals.
5. Given the troubles in Hollywood, it is not surprising that screenwriting became increasingly
important and better overall in quality.
6. Foreign directors are often not as intellectual as American directors and so are assigned to
direct standard, run-of-the-mill movies.
7. More women and minorities began directing “mainstream” films in the 1990s.
8. Americans have long admired the “bedrock” decency in their greatest film heroes.
9. Steven Spielberg said at the time of Schindler’s List that until that film he had always been
truthful in his films.
10. Arguably the most important development for artistic significance in 90s movie making was
the establishment of independent films.
Matching
1) R. Allers & R. Minhoff ___
2) Clint Eastwood ___
3) Whit Stillman ___
4) Rita Collidge ___
5) Woody Allen ___
6) Nora Ephron ___
7) Victor Nunez ___
8) Hughes brothers ___
9) Todd Solondz ___
10) Don Roos ___
a. Rambling Rose
b. Menace II Society
c. Ulee’s Gold
d. Happiness
e. The Lion King
f. Unforgiven
g. Titanic
h. Barcelona
i. Sleepless in Seattle
j. Deconstructing Harry
ANS:
Short Answer
1. What caused the cost of movies to increase so drastically in the 90s?
2. What happened to the quality of script writing in the 90s?
3. How were gays and lesbians depicted in movies like The Birdcage in the 90s?
4. Did independent filmmakers of the 90s usually stay independent? Explain briefly.
Essay Questions
1. What was the essential quality, according to Steven Spielberg, that was lacking in his movies
prior to Schindler’s List and what did that lack mean for those movies?
2. What is the effect(s) on movie storytelling in the 90s of principally using close-up shots
instead of the full gamut of shots (crane, tracking, dolly, long, extreme long etc.)?
3. What was/ were the effect(s) on movies of the introduction of the increasingly sophisticated
use and look of CGI effects rather than hand-made special effects?
4. Why were Woody Allen movies in the 90s usually unpopular with American audiences, but
popular with European and Japanese audiences?