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About This Quiz
This Western noir from 2007 won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture -- and gave everyone nightmares about Javier Bardem as a psychopathic hit man with the world's worst pageboy haircut! Now, test your recall of this new classic with our quiz!
In which state does "No Country for Old Men" take place?
Kansas
South Dakota
Texas
Any of the above states could serve as the setting for a modern Western. But to writers and filmmakers, there's just something that says "Western noir" about Texas.
Wyoming
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The movie was based on a novel by which writer?
Leigh Brackett
William Faulkner
Cormac McCarthy
McCarthy is one of the heavyweights of modern American literature. He gained particular notice for 1985's "Blood Meridian."
Larry McMurtry
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What is the name of the hit man played by Javier Bardem?
Anton Chigurh
We only learn Chigurh's name halfway through the movie. Understandably, a second character repeats the name as "Sugar?"
Trey Barker
Noverto Griego
we never learn this
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Which character narrates the movie?
Anton Chigurh
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell
The movie opens with some thougthful, low-key musings by Sheriff Bell, about the job that his father and grandfather held before him, and what it requires of the job holder.
Bell's deputy
young Carla Jean Moss
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What is the name of Josh Brolin's character?
C.J. Mooney
Tom Boone
Llewelyn Moss
Llewelyn Moss is the man who stumbles on $2 million in drug money. This sets off the chase that takes up most of the movie.
Boots Sutherland
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In what military conflict did Moss serve?
Korea
Desert Shield
the Iraq war
the Vietnam war
If you hadn't guessed it until now, this identifies "No Country for Old Men" as a period piece, since Moss looks no older than 40. In fact, McCarthy's novel was set in 1981.
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Of what county is Ed Tom Bell sheriff?
Bell County
Longview County
Brewster County
Terrell County
While some authors prefer to fictionalize their locales, McCarthy did not. Terrell County is a real place, bordering Coahuila, Mexico, to the north.
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What is Anton Chigurh's preferred weapon?
an Army Colt
a Bowie knife
a scythe
some kind of crazy bolt gun made from an oxygen tank
At first, it looks like Chigurh is somehow killing people with blasts of compressed air. Later in the movie, we find out that cattle are slaughtered with a retractable bolt gun, and that's what Chigurh has made from his oxygen tank and hose.
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Who is the first person that we see Chigurh kill?
his employers
a sheriff's deputy
A deputy in a neighboring county to Bell's arrests Chigurh -- we never learn the infraction -- not knowing how dangerous he is. Chigurh, whose hands were cuffed in front, strangles the deputy with the handcuff chain, right in the sheriff's station.
a mini-mart clerk
a random motorist
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What is Moss doing when he runs across the drug-deal scene?
rounding up a lost calf
hunting antelope
Moss seems to hit an antelope, but the whole herd takes off running. In following them, Moss first sees a wounded dog, then several trucks parked in the desert with dead men lying in the open space between them.
hiking
dowsing for water
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What does the wounded man in the truck ask for?
a doctor
a phone
a mercy killing
water
The man asks for "agua," which is water in Spanish. Moss ignores his request -- he doesn't have a lot of sympathy for drug dealers, which he's sized the men up to be.
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What does Moss ask the wounded man about?
where he's shot
where the last man standing went
Ignoring the man's plea for water, Moss demands to know where the survivor of the gunfight went. It's an odd request, but makes sense when Moss finds a briefcase full of cash with the dying "last man standing."
where the drugs are
where the money is
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By what nickname does Chigurh call the gas station clerk?
"amigo"
"buddy"
"friendo"
Javier Bardem gives the word a very creepy, unfriendly spin. But then, the entire conversation -- during which it seems clear that Chigurh is going to kill the clerk -- is pretty disturbing.
"pal"
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On what game of chance does the clerk's life depend?
a coin flip
At a gas station, Chigurh amuses himself by pretending to take offense at everything the clerk says, and refusing to just pay for his gas and leave. The situation ends in a coin toss that the clerk wins. Though it's never said out loud, it's strongly implied the Chigurh would have killed him if he'd lost.
drawing straws
rock, paper, scissors
blackjack
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Why does Moss go back to the crime scene late at night?
he thinks there might be more money
to bring water to the man in the truck
Moss has a late-night attack of remorse. If he hadn't, none of the subsequent events would have taken place.
because he dropped his watch out there
because he wants to piece together how it happened
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What does Moss leave at the scene on his second visit?
bootprints
his hat
his Army dog tags
his truck
This is why the second visit was such a mistake. It's the vehicle-ID plate inside the truck's door that identifies him to both the bad guys and law enforcement. On his previous visit, he got away clean.
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Where does Carla Jean's mother live?
Abilene
Fort Worth
Odessa
Getting back to his home, Moss immediately sends Carla Jean to stay with her mother. He knows all kinds of trouble will soon be descending on his home.
Texarkana
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What is the name of the first motel Moss checks into?
Best Western Pecos
the Bluebird
the Dee-Lite
the Regal
After sending his wife to stay with her mother, Moss checks into a cheap motel in Del Rio, Texas. There he stashes the briefcase with the cash in an air duct.
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Why does Moss rent out a second and third motel room in Del Rio?
to evade Chigurh
to retrieve his money from the air duct
he can't find a mattress to suit him
both #1 and #2
First, Moss hides from Chigurh in a second motel. Then he returns to the Regal and gets the room directly behind his, in order to access the air duct (and his briefcase) from the other side, a tricky maneuver that requires tent poles and the hook of a wire coat hanger.
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Who played the bounty hunter Carson Wells?
Colin Farrell
Woody Harrelson
"Bounty hunter" is an inexact term here. He's hired to track down the missing $2 million after Chigurh goes rogue. We don't know exactly what his line of work is, except that he operates outside the law.
Matthew McConaghey
Luke WIlson
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Who played the man who hires Carson Wells?
Bradford Whitley
Bruce Campbell
Stephen Root
Root is known for playing guys who are a bit loose in their shoes. This was a fairly straight role for the comic actor.
Brandon Sanderson
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What does Wells tell his employer Chigurh doesn't have?
a conscience
a family
a car
a sense of humor
However, Wells says later that Chigurh has "principles," of a sort. He tells Moss that Chigurh does the things he does for reasons that go beyond money.
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Where does Moss hide the briefcase when he crosses into Mexico?
buried just on the Texas side
in a brush-filled gully
Moss crosses on foot, and throws the briefcase over a high chain-link fence into the gully. It's not a great plan, but he's badly injured from a firefight with Chigurh and doesn't have a lot of options.
taped to the undercarriage of his car
he doesn't; it's in the open
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What does Moss buy from the young men at the border crossing?
a beer
a gun
a coat
both #1 and #3
Several college-age guys are coming back from Mexico on foot just as Moss is crossing over. He's pretty beat up from a shootout with Chigurh, and negotiates for the coat to cover his bloody clothes and a beer to ... well, you know.
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Why does Chigurh blow up a car?
just because he feels like it
as a threat to Moss
it belongs to Carson Wells
to create a distraction while he steals from a pharmacy
For a man who has no problem with murder, Chigurh takes the less violent route here. Instead of holding up the pharmacy, he blows up an unattended, parked car, and just strolls into the back of the pharmacy while everyone is outside.
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Who comes to visit Moss in the hospital in Mexico?
Chigurh
Carla Jean
Carson Wells
Wells has come to suggest that Moss give up the briefcase, if only to save Carla Jean from Chigurh. The scene is one of those twangy, Southern, world-weary speeches that Harrelson does so well.
the Mexican police
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Where does Chigurh kill Wells?
on the border-crossing bridge
in his motel room
Chigurh ambushes Wells on the staircase, and then shoots him in the privacy of his room. Yes, yet another motel room -- there's quite a few of them in "Old Men."
outside the hospital
in the gully under the bridge
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In what city does Moss arrange to meet Carla Jean and hand off the money?
Abilene
El Paso
Yes, Moss takes yet another motel room, this one in El Paso. By the time everything is over, there are about as many motel rooms in "Old Men" as in a season of "Supernatural."
Houston
Tijuana
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How do the Mexicans know to come to the El Paso motel?
Bell's phone was tapped
Moss's phone was tapped
Carla Jean's mother unwittingly tells one of them
Things are already starting to unravel for Moss. Carla Jean has tipped Sheriff Bell off about their meeting place. But it's far worse when her mother tells a friendly Mexican gentleman, who offers to carry her luggage, where the two are heading.
they tailed him from Mexico
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Who gets the briefcase, in the end?
Bell
Chigurh
When Bell checks out the El Paso hotel room, there are coins on the floor and the grate of the air duct has been removed. Chigurh, knowing Moss's favorite hiding place, has retrieved the case.
Carla Jean
no one
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What do people always say before he kills them, according to Chigurh?
"I have kids."
"Let me call my mother first."
"You don't have to do this."
Both Carson Wells and Carla Jean use this line when facing Chigurh. It only seems to amuse him.
"I've wet my pants."
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Does Chigurh kill Carla Jean?
yes
no
probably
The movie leaves it an open question, but there's a significant hint in that Chigurh checks the sole of each boot on leaving the house. We've already seen him avoid stepping in blood at Wells's murder scene. (FYI, if you want a definitive answer, read the book).
there's no way to know
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"No Country for Old Men" ends with Ed Tom Bell talking about what?
his dreams last night
Bell , who has retired, is telling his wife about last night's dreams. The second and more emotionally significant one was about his father riding ahead of him on horseback, at night, to light a fire. Bell says that he knew, in the dream, that his father would be waiting for him up ahead. (What could THAT be a metaphor for?)
his plans for his day
his plans for his funeral
his memories of his wedding day
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Tess Harper, who played Bell's wife, was in what other acclaimed, Texas-set film?
Texasville
The Last Picture Show
Planet Terror
Tender Mercies
Tess Harper got her break in "Tender Mercies," starring alongside Robert Duvall. Come to think of it, we can't figure out how Duvall missed being cast in "No Country for Old Men" -- he seems like a natural!
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Who directed "No Country for Old Men"?
the Coen Brothers
The Coens are probably best known for quirky, dark comedies like "Raising Arizona" and "Fargo." This film was more serious fare, like their early effort, "Blood Simple."
Christopher Nolan
Kimberly Peirce
Steven Spielberg
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