By WALTER ADDIEGO, San Francisco Chronicle

Before you settle down with a classic holiday movie of your choice, test your knowledge of the favorites.

1: Why do Laurel and Hardy get fired from the toy shop in "Babes in Toyland"?

2: How does the angel Clarence inscribe the copy of "Tom Sawyer" in "It's a Wonderful Life"?

Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" was one of several films released in 1971 ("A Clockwork Orange" was another) that kicked off a long and loud debate about on-screen violence. The film included a highly disturbing rape scene and ended with an extended and unsparing sequence of bloodshed.

There will be few halfhearted reactions to Terrence Malick's grandly ambitious new film, "The Tree of Life," which last week was awarded the Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's highest prize.

Like many of Hollywood's elite, Keanu Reeves alternates major productions with small-scale projects. His new movie, "Henry's Crime," an indie film that combines bits of caper movie and romantic comedy, is definitely the second sort. It's a labor of love the actor has been working on for years.

I sat down with "The King's Speech" director Tom Hooper the day before the movie received 12 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Director. The Oxford-educated filmmaker, whose previous work includes the critically applauded "The Damned United" and the "John Adams" HBO miniseries, is thoughtful and highly articulate. The following is excerpted from a long conversation.

Patricia Clarkson seems to lift any movie she's in, and she's in a lot these days, with no fewer than four releases this year.

Though she's an indie-film stalwart, she hasn't escaped the notice of big-name moviemakers. How many actors can say they did back-to-back Woody Allen movies ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona," "Whatever Works"), then a Martin Scorsese picture ("Shutter Island")?

The main stars of "Toy Story 3" are the old reliables -- Woody, Buzz, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and the rest of Andy's playthings. But "TS3" has a few surprises, and one of them is the introduction of Ken, as in Ken and Barbie.

David Cronenberg left a permanent mark on the film world with his early series of "body horror" pictures, peaking with "The Fly." The filmmaker has moved on to other things, but a fellow Canadian, Vincenzo Natali, is picking up where he left off.

Swedish director Jan Troell struck gold when his 1971 epic "The Emigrants" was nominated for five Oscars and won two Golden Globes. A sequel made a year later, "The New Land," which continued the saga of 19th-century Swedes trying to make a new life in the United States, proved that "The Emigrants" wasn't a fluke.

"PARIS, TEXAS" (1984. RATED R. CRITERION. $39.95.)

In an interview included with this set, director Wim Wenders says all his films before 1984's "Paris, Texas" -- he made his first feature in 1970 -- were practice for it.