Can You Score 20/20? Ultimate Movie Sound Effects Trivia Quiz: Can You Hear It?

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Test your ear for cinema magic with this 20-question trivia quiz on iconic movie sound effects! From lightsaber hums to dino roars, these questions range from easy warm-ups to devilishly hard challenges for true sound nerds.

20 Trivia Questions on Movie Sound Effects

Question 1: Which film first featured the famous ‘Wilhelm Scream’ sound effect?

A. Star Wars (1977)
B. Distant Drums (1951)
C. The Charge at Feather River (1953)
D. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Question 2: Who created the distinctive humming sound of the lightsaber in the Star Wars films?

A. Gary Rydstrom
B. John Williams
C. George Lucas
D. Ben Burtt

Question 3: In Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), the sound of the knife plunging into flesh during the shower scene was created using what?

A. A watermelon
B. A head of cabbage
C. A casaba melon
D. A pumpkin

Question 4: The blaster firing sound in Star Wars was produced by Ben Burtt striking a hammer against what?

A. A metal pipe
B. A light bulb filament
C. An anvil
D. A guy-wire coated with plastic resin

Question 5: Which sound designer created the terrifying T. rex roar for Jurassic Park (1993)?

A. Ben Burtt
B. Gary Rydstrom
C. Walter Murch
D. Richard King

Question 6: The sound of the massive rolling boulder in the chase scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was recorded from what?

A. A Jeep accelerating
B. A Honda trail bike on concrete
C. A steamroller
D. A large tractor

Question 7: Ben Burtt created the hyperspace ‘whoosh’ activation sound in Star Wars using a recording of what?

A. A rocket launch
B. A jet aircraft flyby
C. A race car Doppler shift
D. A swinging chain

Question 8: The distinctive helicopter blade texture in Apocalypse Now (1979) was augmented by the sound of what?

A. Real Huey rotors only
B. Palm fronds being whipped
C. Model helicopter props
D. Fan blades in a wind tunnel

Question 9: The core hum of the lightsaber in Star Wars was partly created using the motor from what old device?

A. A motorcycle engine
B. A typewriter carriage
C. A vacuum cleaner
D. A film projector

Question 10: The raspy communication calls of the velociraptors in Jurassic Park (1993) were made from recordings of what?

A. Tortoises mating
B. Crickets chirping
C. Angry geese
D. Prairie dogs

Question 11: The beeps and boops of R2-D2 in Star Wars were based on what manipulated by Ben Burtt?

A. Synthesizer presets
B. Bird calls
C. His own voice
D. Dog barks

Question 12: Which sound designer won an Oscar for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) sound effects, including the liquid metal morphs?

A. Ben Burtt
B. Alan Robert Murray
C. Tom Johnson
D. Gary Rydstrom

Question 13: The iceberg scraping the Titanic’s hull in Titanic (1997) was recreated by Gary Rydstrom dragging what?

A. A chain over ice
B. A 40-foot cable over rusted metal
C. Branches on concrete
D. A saw blade on steel

Question 14: The dilophosaurus venom spit sound effect in Jurassic Park (1993) was created using a what?

A. Garden hose nozzle
B. Fire extinguisher spraying water
C. Slurpee machine
D. Compressed air hose

Question 15: The sparks and crackles during lightsaber clashes in Star Wars came from what?

A. Actual welding arcs
B. Fireworks
C. TV picture tube interference
D. Laser sound generators

Question 16: From which film originates the gruesome chestburster emergence sound effect?

A. The Thing (1982)
B. Slither (2006)
C. Society (1989)
D. Alien (1979)

Question 17: The screeching engine sound of TIE fighters in Star Wars was derived from what animal call?

A. Monkey screams
B. Distorted elephant trumpets
C. Horse whinnies
D. Lion roars

Question 18: What was struck to create the metallic ‘clang’ for AT-AT footsteps in The Empire Strikes Back?

A. Large gongs
B. Car hoods
C. Steel plates
D. Anvils

Question 19: The healing beam finger glow hum in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was designed by whom?

A. Gary Rydstrom
B. John Williams
C. Ben Burtt
D. Randy Thom

Question 20: Which combination of slowed animal sounds primarily formed the T. rex infant distress bleat in Jurassic Park?

A. Tiger and wolf
B. Baby elephant trumpet
C. Dolphin clicks
D. Alligator grunt

Answers

  1. B. Distant Drums (1951) – The Wilhelm Scream was recorded in 1951 specifically for this Raoul Walsh western starring Gary Cooper; it gained fame after being reused by sound editor Jack Foley in later films like The Charge at Feather River.
  2. D. Ben Burtt – Burtt blended static interference from a TV set with the motor hum from an old film projector to craft the unforgettable lightsaber ignition and hum.
  3. C. A casaba melon – The Foley artists stabbed a real knife into a casaba melon to replicate the wet, fleshy impacts; watermelons and others have been used similarly but not here.
  4. D. A guy-wire coated with plastic resin – Burtt coated an antenna support cable in resin to dull it, then hammered it for the sharp, resonant blaster pew-pew.
  5. B. Gary Rydstrom – Rydstrom mixed slowed baby elephant trumpets, tiger growls, and alligator gurgles for the roar, earning a BAFTA for sound.
  6. B. A Honda trail bike on concrete – Burtt mic’d a small Honda 70 trail bike speeding up on pavement to simulate the massive boulder’s thunderous roll.
  7. B. A jet aircraft flyby – A recording of a McDonnell Douglas jet fighter streaking past, slowed and processed, gave the dramatic hyperspace jump its sweep.
  8. B. Palm fronds being whipped – Walter Murch layered real helicopter recordings with scraped palm branches for the unique, ominous blade chop in the famous napalm scene.
  9. D. A film projector – The 1920s Klangfilm projector motor provided the base hum, layered with TV interference for the lightsaber’s idle thrum.
  10. A. Tortoises mating – Gary Rydstrom amplified and pitched recordings of mating tortoises for the eerie, raspy raptor chatter unique to the film.
  11. C. His own voice – Burtt vocalised all of R2-D2’s expressive beeps himself, then ran them through analogue synthesisers and effects for variety.
  12. D. Gary Rydstrom – Rydstrom’s innovative Foley for the T-1000’s liquid nitrogen effects and morphs won the Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing.
  13. B. A 40-foot cable over rusted metal – Rydstrom dragged a massive cable across a rusty ship hold to capture the harrowing, grinding scrape.
  14. B. Fire extinguisher spraying water – Rydstrom used a CO2 fire extinguisher blasting water for the hissing, splattering venom attack.
  15. C. TV picture tube interference – Burtt captured electromagnetic interference from an untuned TV to create the sizzling energy clashes.
  16. D. Alien (1979) – Ridley Scott’s Alien debuted the shocking chestburster SFX with wet tears, air releases, and animal gurgles by the UK sound team.
  17. B. Distorted elephant trumpets – Burtt slowed and electronically warped elephant calls into the shrill, descending TIE fighter wail.
  18. C. Steel plates – Burtt and team dropped and scraped large steel plates for the heavy, metallic clanks of the AT-AT walkers on Hoth.
  19. C. Ben Burtt – Burtt layered synthesisers and subtle hums for E.T.’s glowing fingertip healing beam, matching his work on the film’s other effects.
  20. B. Baby elephant trumpet – Rydstrom’s T. rex roar incorporated slowed infant elephant distress calls as a key base layer for realism.

How many did you get right? Share your score in the comments and challenge your friends to beat it – true cinephiles hear all!