Film MusicTrivia Questions & Answers
25 film music trivia questions, each with the correct answer and a short explanation.
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Each question reveals the answer and a quick explanation below it.
1. In 'Apocalypse Now,' the famous helicopter attack scene is accompanied by which piece of classical music?
Answer: Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries'. Lt. Col. Kilgore orders Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' played from helicopter speakers during the iconic napalm attack sequence.
2. The score for 'Psycho' (1960) famously used only string instruments. Who composed it?
Answer: Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann composed the all-strings score for Hitchcock's 'Psycho,' with the 'shower scene' music becoming one of cinema's most recognizable pieces.
3. The score for 'There Will Be Blood' (2007) was composed by which artist, better known as a rock musician?
Answer: Jonny Greenwood. Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood composed the acclaimed score for There Will Be Blood, launching his prominent film composing career.
4. Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining' opens with a piece of music originally composed for which earlier film?
Answer: Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Kubrick used Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta as the opening title music for The Shining; Bartók composed it in 1936.
5. Which composer scored both 'Psycho' and 'Taxi Driver,' two of cinema's most distinctive soundtracks?
Answer: Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann scored Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), his final score before dying the night he completed it.
6. Which Kubrick film features a piece of classical music by György Ligeti that was used without prior permission?
Answer: 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick used Ligeti's 'Atmosphères' and 'Lux Aeterna' in '2001' without initially securing proper rights, leading to a settlement.
7. Who composed the iconic shower scene music in 'Psycho,' originally against Alfred Hitchcock's wishes?
Answer: Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann composed the screeching strings for the shower scene; Hitchcock initially wanted it silent but was convinced after hearing Herrmann's score.
8. Which composer wrote the score for the original 'Planet of the Apes' (1968), known for its groundbreaking use of avant-garde atonal techniques?
Answer: Jerry Goldsmith. Jerry Goldsmith's score for 'Planet of the Apes' was revolutionary, using prepared piano, unusual percussion, and twelve-tone techniques rarely heard in mainstream Hollywood films.
9. Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' opened with a classical piece not originally composed for the film. Who wrote it?
Answer: Richard Strauss. 'Also Sprach Zarathustra,' the iconic opening fanfare, was composed by Richard Strauss in 1896 — Kubrick famously chose existing classical pieces over an original score.
10. The famous 'ear scene' in 'Reservoir Dogs' was choreographed to which song that Tarantino heard playing on the radio during filming?
Answer: Stuck in the Middle with You. 'Stuck in the Middle with You' by Stealers Wheel plays during Mr. Blonde's torture scene; Tarantino built the choreography around it after hearing it.
11. Which famous film score was composed in just two weeks under extreme deadline pressure by its composer?
Answer: Psycho. Bernard Herrmann composed and recorded the entire 'Psycho' score in approximately two weeks, famously using only string instruments.
12. Ennio Morricone composed scores for hundreds of films. For which film did he finally win his first competitive Academy Award?
Answer: The Hateful Eight. Morricone won his first competitive Oscar for Best Original Score for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (2015), having previously received only an honorary Oscar in 2007.
13. Which composer wrote the score for both 'Psycho' and 'Taxi Driver,' spanning two very different eras of thriller filmmaking?
Answer: Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann scored Hitchcock's 'Psycho' (1960) and Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' (1976), the latter being his final film score.
14. Pixar's 'Up' (2009) opens with a wordless montage. Which composer scored that film's acclaimed soundtrack?
Answer: Michael Giacchino. Michael Giacchino scored 'Up' and won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the film.
15. Which film composer scored both 'Schindler's List' and 'Jurassic Park,' released in the same year (1993)?
Answer: John Williams. John Williams scored both 'Schindler's List' and 'Jurassic Park' in 1993, winning the Oscar for 'Schindler's List.'
16. Which composer scored both 'Schindler's List' and 'Jurassic Park,' released the same year?
Answer: John Williams. John Williams composed scores for both 'Schindler's List' and 'Jurassic Park' in 1993, winning the Oscar for 'Schindler's List.'
17. Which film composer scored both 'Schindler's List' and 'Jurassic Park' in the same year?
Answer: John Williams. John Williams composed the scores for both Spielberg films released in 1993, winning the Oscar for Best Original Score for 'Schindler's List.'
18. Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' prominently features music by Ligeti, Strauss, and Khachaturian. Which Khachaturian piece is used?
Answer: Gayane Ballet Suite – Adagio. The Adagio from Khachaturian's 'Gayane' ballet suite plays during the Discovery One crew's hibernation and daily routine scenes.
19. Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' broke a major Hollywood convention by killing its apparent protagonist early. Who composed its iconic screeching score?
Answer: Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann composed the 'Psycho' score, famously using only strings; Hitchcock initially wanted no music for the shower scene but Herrmann persuaded him.
20. The 1973 film 'The Sting' features a soundtrack of ragtime compositions. Who arranged and adapted these pieces for the film?
Answer: Marvin Hamlisch. Marvin Hamlisch adapted Scott Joplin's ragtime pieces for 'The Sting,' winning the Oscar for Best Adaptation and Original Song Score.
21. Which composer wrote the iconic four-note motif that opens John Williams' 'Jaws' score — widely misattributed only to Williams?
Answer: John Williams alone. John Williams alone composed the 'Jaws' theme; the question tests the misconception that he borrowed it — he didn't, and won the Academy Award for the score.
22. Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' featured a classical piece as its iconic opening theme — who composed it?
Answer: Richard Strauss. The thunderous opening uses 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss (not Johann Strauss II, who wrote the Danube waltz also featured in the film).
23. Which film composer scored both 'Schindler's List' and the original 'Home Alone,' representing his strikingly diverse filmography?
Answer: John Williams. John Williams composed the scores for both 'Home Alone' (1990) and 'Schindler's List' (1993), showcasing his remarkable versatility.
24. Which film composer wrote the scores for both 'Psycho' (1960) and 'Taxi Driver' (1976)?
Answer: Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann composed the iconic shrieking strings for 'Psycho' and also scored 'Taxi Driver', his final film, released the year he died.
25. Before scoring 'Psycho,' Bernard Herrmann composed music for which Orson Welles radio broadcast that caused nationwide panic?
Answer: War of the Worlds. Herrmann served as musical director for Orson Welles's CBS Mercury Theatre, including the infamous 1938 'War of the Worlds' broadcast.
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