QUIZ - 64

This was meant to be a quiz on F1 Race Circuits, to welcome the latest addition to F1 venues, Singapore, where in less than an hour from now, an exciting night time race on the city streets will get underway. But then the sad demise of Paul Newman, one of the finest actors and also a perfect gentleman, changed all that. Here are 10 questions on Paul Newman, the actor.

1. Name Paul Newman’s debut film of 1954, in which he played a Greek artisan who makes an ornate holder for the goblet employed by Jesus at the Last Supper. The reviews were so bad that Newman actually took out a full-page advert in a trade paper, apologising to film-goers for his performance.

2. For which 1956 film did his producer Charles Schnee and director Robert Wise give him what they called a "Noscar” when he failed to receive an Oscar nomination?

3. For which 1958 film did Paul Newman receive his first Oscar nomination for playing a bitter, alcoholic former star athlete opposite Elizabeth Taylor?

4. With which 1968 film about a repressed school teacher did Paul Newman make his directorial debut?

5. Name the production company that Paul Newman founded in 1971 along with Sidney Poitier, Barbra Streisand and Steve McQueen.

6. Paul Newman was nominated for nine acting Academy Awards in five different decades – 50’s, 60’s, 80’s, 90’s and finally in 2002. Which 1986 film fetched him his one and only acting Oscar?

7. Along with Peter O'Toole, Al Pacino, Bing Crosby and Cate Blanchett, Paul Newman shares a rare distinction to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same role in two separate films. What was the role and the two films?

8. What unique Oscar distinction does Paul Newman share with Frank Sinatra?

9. Students of Princeton University and some other American colleges observe an annual tradition of Newman’s Day when they down 24 beers in 24 hours. This celebration is allegedly based on a Paul Newman character from one of his fims. Name the film.

10. In 1958 Paul Newman married Joanne Woodward and their 50 year long marriage is one of the most celebrated and longest matrimonial unions in the otherwise fickle Hollywood relationships. They acted together in 10 films. Name their first film together which led to Paul Newman divorcing his first wife Jackie Witte followed by their marriage.

Answers to Quiz - 63

1. In which 1946 film did Ingmar Bergman make his directorial debut?

Crisis

2. Between 1961 and 1963 Bergman produced three films on the theme of religion. These are often known as ‘The Faith Trilogy’ or ‘The Chamber Trilogy’ because of the extensive use of Bach’s chamber music in them. ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ and ‘Winter Light’ are the first 2 films of this trilogy. Name the third.

Silence

3. One of Bergman’s most celebrated techniques is the use of facial close-ups. In which 1966 film is this technique strikingly evident?

Persona

4. Bergman won three Oscars for the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’. Two of these are ‘The Virgin Spring’ and ‘Through a Glass Darkly’. Name the third, which is also his last major feature film.

Fanny and Alexander

5. Name the remote Swedish island in which Bergman spent the final decades of his life in solitude?

Fårö

6. Bergman married 5 times and in addition had romantic relationships with his actresses. Name this famous Norwegian actress by whom he had love child (daughter).

Liv Ullmann

7. The collaboration between Bergman and his cinematographer Sven Nykvist is legendary in the history of cinema. Together they made 20 films over a span of 30 years. Which was their first film together?

Sawdust and Tinsel

8. Name the production house that Bergman set up in 1966 to produce his own films

Cinematograph

9. What is the name of Bergman’s first autobiography that was published in 1987?

The Magic Lantern

10. Which of Bergman’s film contains one of the most memorable scenes in all of cinema, in which the knight portrayed by Max Von Sydow plays a game of chess against Death?

The Seventh Seal

QUIZ - 63

These days I am watching a retrospective of films by Ingmar Bergman, one of the finest film makers of all time. Here are 10 questions on Ingmar Bergman.

1. In which 1946 film did Ingmar Bergman make his directorial debut?

2. Between 1961 and 1963 Bergman produced three films on the theme of religion. These are often known as ‘The Faith Trilogy’ or ‘The Chamber Trilogy’ because of the extensive use of Bach’s chamber music in them. ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ and ‘Winter Light’ are the first 2 films of this trilogy. Name the third.

3. One of Bergman’s most celebrated techniques is the use of facial close-ups. In which 1966 film is this technique strikingly evident?

4. Bergman won three Oscars for the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’. Two of these are ‘The Virgin Spring’ and ‘Through a Glass Darkly’. Name the third, which is also his last major feature film.

5. Name the remote Swedish island in which Bergman spent the final decades of his life in solitude.

6. Bergman married 5 times and in addition had romantic relationships with his actresses. Name this famous Norwegian actress by whom he had a love child (daughter).


7. The collaboration between Bergman and his cinematographer Sven Nykvist is legendary in the history of cinema. Together they made 20 films over a span of 30 years. Which was their first film together?

8. Name the production house that Bergman set up in 1966 to produce his own films

9. What is the name of Bergman’s first autobiography that was published in 1987?

10. Which of Bergman’s film contains one of the most memorable scenes in all of cinema, in which the knight portrayed by Max Von Sydow plays a game of chess against Death?

Answers to Quiz - 62

1. Brought by German emigrants to Argentina, identify this instrument which is an important part of the orchestra for tango music



Bandoneón

2. Which two woods are primarily used for making the violin?

Spruce and Maple

3. Often doubling as a stool, name this percussion instrument of Peruvian origin that is an important part of flamenco music.



Cajon
4. Name the 17th Century Italian, who is generally credited with the invention of piano

Bartolomeo Cristofori

5. What low profile instrument of the brass family is celebrated internationally every year, for the last 30 years on the first Friday of May?

The Tuba

6. What instrument did Dr. Robert Moog invent in 1964?

The Synthesizer

7. How many strings are there in a Grand Harp used in concerts?

47

8. The drone and the chanter are important parts of which musical instrument?

The Bagpipe

9. What musical instrument is celebrated at a world music festival held every 4 years in the German town of Trossingen?

Harmonica

10. Identify this South American wind instrument



zampoña

QUIZ - 62

Ten questions on musical instruments

1. Brought by German emigrants to Argentina, identify this instrument which is an important part of the orchestra for tango music

2. Which two woods are primarily used for making the violin?

3. Often doubling as a stool, name this percussion instrument of Peruvian origin that is an important part of flamenco music


4. Name the 17th Century Italian, who is generally credited with the invention of piano

5. What low profile instrument of the brass family is celebrated internationally every year, for the last 30 years on the first Friday of May?

6. What instrument did Dr. Robert Moog invent in 1964?

7. How many strings are there in a Grand Harp used in concerts?

8. The drone and the chanter are important parts of which musical instrument?

9. What musical instrument is celebrated at a world music festival held every 4 years in the German town of Trossingen?

10. Identify this South American wind instrument

Answers to Quiz - 61

1. 100 years ago on August 17, 1908, the first animated film was premiered. Name the film and its maker.

Fantasmagorie, Émile Cohl

2. What commodity does the index Live-ex 100 track?

Wine

3. Name the hormone responsible for stimulation of milk secretion during lactation and uterine contraction during birth, and which is released during orgasm

Oxytocin

4. What term describes the method of purchasing wine 12 – 18 months before it is actually bottled, while still in a barrel?

En primeur

5. Standing next to the grave of the poet John Keats in Rome is that of his painter friend who nursed him during his final months. Name this painter, whose letters are the definitive account of Keats’ final months.

Joseph Severn

6. What movement did Marc Kelly Smith, a construction worker turned poet, create during November 1984 in Chicago?

Poetry Slam, a competition in which poets recite their original work, which is then judged on a numeric scale by pre-selected members of the audience

7. If the hormone Ghrelin increases the appetite, name the hormone that suppresses it

Leptin

8. Name the dining society in London, that took its name after Christopher Cat, the owner of the inn where the diners met, that flourished for a couple of decades beginning 1690 with a strong leaning towards Whig policies.

The Kit-Cat Club

9. Its original name in Arabic is Jabal Tāriq meaning "mountain of Tariq". By what name do we know this place today?

Gibraltar

10. The Orange Revolution happened in Ukraine. Where did the Rose Revolution take place?

Georgia