It's Epic! Trivia Quiz

Widely regarded as the forebear of all epic movies, "Cabiria" was written and directed by Giovanni Pastrone, an Italian director, actor and screenwriter from Turin (where the film was mostly shot). The screenplay, to which famed Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio contributed, was based on a number of literary sources - namely Titus Livius' "History of Rome", as well as the novels "Salammbô" by Gustave Flaubert and "Cartagine in fiamme" (Carthage in Flames) by Emilio Salgari. With an original running time of 200 minutes and some scenes filmed in various locations, "Cabiria" was one of the very first movies to use a moving camera. It was also the first film to be shown at the White House. in June 1914 - less than two months after its release.

"Cabiria" is titled after its protagonist, a young girl from Sicily who is abducted by Phoenician pirates and taken to Carthage, where she is sold to a priest who intends to sacrifice her to the monstrous god Moloch. Cabiria's adventures unfold on the background of the wars between Rome and Carthage: among the events depicted in the movie, there are Hannibal's crossing of the Alps with elephants and Archimedes' use of the heat ray during the siege of Syracuse. The film also introduced the character of Maciste, an immensely strong slave created by Pastrone and D'Annunzio, who modeled him on the Hercules of Greek mythology; he became a staple of the "sword and sandal" epics produced in Italy from the 1910s to the 1960s. The original Maciste was portrayed by Bartolomeo Pagano, a former stevedore at the port of Genoa, who played the character for 14 years before retiring.

Directed by Sergei Eisenstein, "Battleship Potemkin" ("Bronenosets Potyomkin" in Russian) is somewhat atypical as epic films go, with a running time of just 74 minutes. However, although short if compared with other movies produced in the same period and later, it scores highly in the epic stakes, with its five-part structure and ground-breaking use of the montage technique. "Battleship Potemkin" is a dramatization of events that occurred 20 years earlier, in June 1905, when the crew of the titular ship of the Imperial Russian Navy mutinied against their officers after being served "borscht" made with maggot-ridden meat.

Intended as political propaganda, the film was based on a number of performances commemorating the events of 1905, which paved the way for the October Revolution of 1917. Eisenstein, then 27 years old, was chosen as the director, while the script was written by Soviet revolutionary Nina Agadzhanova. Most of the actors selected by Eisenstein were not professionals; the film was shot in the port city of Odessa (now in Ukraine) on the Black Sea. The celebrated scene of the Odessa steps, depicting the city's population being massacred by imperial soldiers, is featured in the fourth part of the film. The scene, which includes the iconic sequence of a baby carriage rolling down the steps among the fleeing crowd, has been referenced in many later movies.

In spite of its reputation as a rather boring spectacle (not surprising for a film created as propaganda rather than mere entertainment), "Battleship Potemkin" is often cited as one of the greatest films of all time.

Based on the 1936 novel of the same title by Margaret Mitchell, Victor Fleming's "Gone with the Wind" was one of the first truly epic movies of the talkie era. Setting the turbulent life of Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara against the historical backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film featured a stellar cast - with English actress Vivien Leigh as the strong-willed heroine, and Clark Gable as handsome rogue Rhett Butler. In spite of the multiple issues troubling its production, "Gone with the Wind" was well-received upon release, though criticized for its hefty running time (221 minutes), and for a long time held the record of highest-earning film in history.

For our modern standards, "Gone with the Wind" has not aged too well - in particular regarding its depiction of slavery and racial relations in general. However, there is no denying the film's epic scope, with iconic scenes such as the burning of Atlanta and a suitably grandiose, orchestral score by Austrian composer Max Steiner. The film was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, winning eight of them - including Best Director, Best Actress, and the historic award for Best Supporting Actress won by Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar. In 1989, "Gone with the Wind" was one of the 25 films originally selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry.

Set in the late 16th century, "Seven Samurai" ("Shichinin no Samurai" in Japanese) tells the story of a group of samurai hired by the people of a rural Japanese village to defend them from bandits bent on stealing their crops after the harvest. Director Akira Kurosawa, who had gained international recognition when his "Rashomon" won the Golden Lion at the 1950 Venice Film Festival, discovered the story while doing research for another project. The script originally featured only six samurai: Kurosawa mainstay Toshiro Mifune was later cast as the seventh member of the group, a hot-headed rogue pretending to be a samurai.

Running at 207 minutes, "Seven Samurai" is the longest of Kurosawa's films, and at the time the most expensive movie produced in Japan. In spite of the difficulties encountered by the production, it was well received in Japan and outside - though some critics remarked on its similarities to Western films, maybe not realizing that some of the plot devices in "Seven Samurai" (such as the reluctant hero) are common to stories found in many cultures. Now widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, "Seven Samurai" won the Silver Lion in Venice, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. It has also achieved iconic status in Japanese culture, and has been remade numerous times: the best-known of these remakes is the 1960 Western "The Magnificent Seven", directed by John Sturgis.

English director Sir David Lean is regarded by many as the king of the epic movie, with iconic efforts to his name such as "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), and, of course, "Lawrence of Arabia". The latter, an epic biographical film based on the life of British officer and writer T.E. Lawrence and his 1926 book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", features a career-defining performance by Peter O'Toole in the title role, as well as a star-studded cast including Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif. The film's screenplay was co-written by Michael Wilson and Robert Bolt - also known as the author of the play "A Man for All Seasons", which was adapted in an award-winning movie in 1966.

Filmed in Jordan, Morocco and southern Spain, "Lawrence of Arabia" has a hefty running time of 222 minutes; its sweeping orchestral score was composed by Maurice Jarre, who would later collaborate with Lean on "Doctor Zhivago" and "A Passage to India". Some of the historical events depicted in the movie were heavily fictionalized, and the portrayal of Lawrence was also the object of criticism. In spite of that, "Lawrence of Arabia" was well received by audiences and critics, and its reputation has grown over time. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, it won in seven categories - including Best Picture and Best Director. O'Toole, however, lost Best Actor to Gregory Peck - the first of a series of Academy Award snubs (eight in total). He was finally granted an Honorary Award for his career in 2002.

In 1960, at the age of 31, director Stanley Kubrick had had his first experience directing an epic movie with "Spartacus", a highly sophisticated take on the popular "peplum" or "sword-and-sandal" subgenre. In 1968, he returned to the epic genre with a very different, though even more iconic film - "2001: A Space Odyssey", based on various short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke (who co-wrote the screenplay). Running at 139 minutes (161 in the original cut), the film revolves around a expedition to Jupiter to uncover the origins of a mysterious black monolith found on the Moon. The film dealt with themes such as artificial intelligence (embodied by the film's main antagonist, supercomputer HAL 9000) and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" was groundbreaking not only in its realistic depiction of spaceflight and use of special effects, but also on its reliance on music (including a number of well-known classical pieces) rather than dialogue in long sequences. Nominated for four Academy Awards, it only won the one for Best Special Visual Effects - the only Oscar won by Kubrick, a director that is now regarded as one of the most influential in the history of cinema.

The subgenre of the epic war movie has produced many remarkable examples. Few, however, have had the impact of Francis Ford Coppola's monumental "Apocalypse Now". The film was loosely based on Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella "Heart of Darkness", but set during the Vietnam War rather than in colonial Africa. The screenplay was co-written by John Milius, who gained fame as a director in the 1980s. Coppola's earlier epic forays, the first two movies based on Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" (1972 and 1974), revolutionized the subgenre of the gangster movie. Similarly, "Apocalypse Now" proved equally influential for films set during the Vietnam War.

"Apocalypse Now" was mainly filmed in the Philippines. Starring Marlon Brando as the mysterious Colonel Kurtz, Martin Sheen as Captain Willard, and Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Kilgore, the film runs at 147 minutes; two extended versions ("Redux" and "The Final Cut") were released in 2001 and 2019. The film's soundtrack includes Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" in the scene of the napalm attack on a Viet Cong village, and The Doors' "The End".

In the time-honoured fashion of many famous epic movies, the production of "Apocalypse Now" was plagued by a slew of issues - including Sheen almost dying of a heart attack and most of the sets being destroyed by a typhoon, which eventually caused the film to be screened still unfinished at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. However, this did not stop it from being awarded the Palme d'Or. "Apocalypse Now" was not as lucky in terms of Academy Awards: nominated in eight categories, it only won two - Best Sound and Best Cinematography. Though its depiction of the Vietnam War has been the object of controversy ever since its release, the film is now widely regarded as one of the greatest ever made.

The directorial debut of actor Kevin Costner (who also stars as the movie's protagonist), "Dances With Wolves" is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Michael Blake, who also wrote the screenplay. This sweeping epic, whose action begins in 1863 during the American Civil War, has been credited with revitalizing the Western film genre - though, unlike many of the classics of the past, with a strong pro-Native American bias. Running at 181 minutes, "Dances With Wolves" also stars Mary McDonnell and a number of Native American actors, notably Graham Greene and Rodney A. Grant; it also features extensive dialogue in the Lakota and Pawnee languages.

Filmed in South Dakota and Wyoming, "Dances With Wolves" follows the story of Union Army Lieutenant John Dunbar, who travels to the American frontier after being wounded during the Civil War, and befriends a group of Lakota Sioux. The film's title refers to the name given by the Lakota to Dunbar because of his close bond with Two Socks, a wolf with white forepaws. Though criticized by some for historical inaccuracies, "Dances With Wolves" was widely praised upon release, and became a massive box office hit. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, it won seven including Best Picture (one of a mere handful of Westerns to do so) and Best Diractor for Costner. A sequel, also based on a book by Michael Blake, was planned but was eventually cancelled.

Like "Gone with the Wind", James Cameron's "Titanic" blends romance and history on an epic scale, though taking full advantage of late 20th-century technology. This record-busting film has been credited with reviving the genre of the epic movie, ushering a new wave of massive cinematic productions in the 21th century. Fascinated with shipwrecks, Cameron did extensive research on the disaster, which included shooting footage of the wreck of the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Mostly shot at Baja Studios in Mexico, where a full-scale reconstruction of the ship was built, "Titanic" became the most expensive film ever made - a title it has since lost to the many big-budget blockbusters released in the 21st century

In Cameron's sweeping, backside-numbing movie (with a running time of 195 minutes), one of history's worst maritime disasters is narrated through the doomed love affair between high-society girl Rose (Kate Winslet) and itinerant artist Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). In Cameron's intentions, this served to emphasize the human element of the tragedy, the senseless loss of life contrasted with the hubris of the ship's builders.

After its release, "Titanic" more than made up for the money and effort spent on it, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time - a record it held for 12 years. Nominated for 14 Academy Awards, it won 11 - a tie with 1959's "Ben-Hur" (and, later, with Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"). None of the actors, however, won any Oscars, and DiCaprio was not even nominated for Best Actor. One of the awards (Best Original Song) was won by Celine Dion's ubiquitous "My Heart Will Go On".

Released in December 2003, "The Return of the King" wrapped up Peter Jackson's trilogy of film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" in style. Although all three movies qualify as epics in the high fantasy subgenre, the trilogy's final instalment is arguably the most epic of them all, with unforgettable scenes such as the ride of the Rohirrim at the battle of the Pelennor Fields and the climactic events at Mount Doom. Director Peter Jackson shot all three films simultaneously in his native New Zealand between October 1999 and December 2000, employing state-of-the-art special effects that included both computer-generated imagery and elaborate artifacts.

A breathtaking visual spectacle featuring many moving performances by its cast (led by veteran English actor Ian McKellen in the role of the wizard Gandalf) and a stirring orchestral score by Howard Shore, "The Return of the King" was not only a massive box office hit, but also a critical success. There was, however, some criticism leveled at the film's hefty running time (201 minutes) and its somewhat overlong epilogue. At the 76th Academy Awards, the film made a clean sweep winning in all the 11 categories for which it had been nominated, including Best Picture (the first fantasy film to do so) and Best Director. It also won four Golden Globes and five BAFTAs.

Directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, "The Revenant" was partly based on American author Michael Punke's 2002 novel of the same name - in turn based on 1915 poem "The Song of Hugh Glass". It was also a remake of 1971 revisionist Western "Man in the Wilderness", also loosely based on the life of American frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass. "The Revenant" was filmed between October 2014 and August 2015 after a number of delays and issues regarding filming locations. The ending of the movie, which required snow on the ground, was shot in Tierra del Fuego, at the southernmost tip of South America.

Running at 156 minutes, "The Revenant" is set in 1823 in the Missouri Territory (now North and South Dakota). It follows some key events in the life of Hugh Glass (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio), in particular his near-fatal mauling by a grizzly bear and his companions' betrayal. A raw, harrowing tale of survival against all odds, the film was a success with both audiences and critics, who widely praised DiCaprio's riveting performance. The latter earned the actor his first, long-awaited Academy Award for Best Actor, after three previous nominations. "The Revenant" was nominated for a total of 12 Academy Awards: besides Best Actor, it also won Best Director and Best Cinematography.

Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" belongs to the subgenre of the biographical epic film that has produced many famous masterpieces of cinema about influential historical characters. Unlike other epic biopics, however, the movie focuses on a scientist rather than a political or military leader. Based on the 2005 book "American Prometheus" by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, "Oppenheimer" is a dramatization of some key events in the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who was behind the development of the first nuclear weapons in the 1940s. This topic was particularly close to Nolan's heart, as he grew up during the Cold War and was keenly aware of the threat of nuclear holocaust.

Filmed in New Mexico and other US locations between February and May 2022, "Oppenheimer" stars Irish actor (and longtime Nolan associate) Cillian Murphy in the title role, with an ensemble supporting cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Kenneth Branagh. Released on the same weekend as Greta Gerwig's vastly different "Barbie", the 180-minute-long film won widespread critical acclaim, and was also hugely successful at the box office. Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, it won in 7 categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Murphy) and Best Supporting Actor (Downey Jr.). Nolan, Murphy and Downey Jr. also won BAFTAs and Golden Globes in the same categories.