Conundrum: The Big Picture II
In a normal “Pic Tac Toe” puzzle, there are nine pictures in a 3×3 grid, like Tic-Tac-Toe. In each of the three rows, three columns, and two diagonals, there is a common theme that unites the three pictures. The challenge is to find the eight themes.
In a “3D Pic Tac Toe” puzzle, there are 27 pictures in a 3×3×3 grid, like a Rubik’s Cube. In each of the nine rows, nine columns, nine pillars, eighteen lateral diagonals, and four cross-cube diagonals, there is a common theme that unites the three pictures. The challenge is to find the 49 themes.
A “Big Picture” puzzle is just like a “3D Pic Tac Toe” puzzle, except that each of the 49 themes will be a movie. Each of the three images in that theme will picture at least one actor who was in that movie.
Imagine stacking the three levels below on top of one another. For reference, and notation guidelines, check out my last Big Picture puzzle, including the comments. The rules here are identical to that puzzle.
Looking at that puzzle will also help identify the actors in Image B5; tragically underused in that puzzle, it now plays a more central role. Although many of the same actors appear in both puzzles, none of the 49 movies in the solution to this puzzle is the same as any of the 49 movies in the previous puzzle’s solution.
In Image B3, you will use the actors who voiced the animated characters shown, but none of the movies in the solution is animated, a documentary, or Robert Altman’s The Player.
You can click on each image to see a larger version:
Top Level – Level A
Middle Level – Level B
Bottom Level – Level C
Please post whatever you come up with in the comments section.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: See comments for correct themes provided by Lee (12) and Neel Mehta (20). The following 17 themes remain unsolved:
Rows
B1-B2-B3
Columns
A1-A4-A7
B1-B4-B7
B3-B6-B9
Pillars
A3-B3-C3
A4-B4-C4
A7-B7-C7
Lateral Diagonals
B3-B5-B7
A1-B2-C3
A3-B2-C1
A6-B5-C4
A7-B8-C9
A9-B8-C7
A1-B4-C7
A2-B5-C8
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
January 26th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
B7 B8 B9 Edward Scissorhands
January 26th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
C1 C5 C9 It’s Complicated
January 26th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
C7 C5 C3 Les Misérables
January 26th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
All correct. Thanks for getting the ball rolling, Lee!
January 26th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
C4 C5 C6 Parenthood
January 26th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
A9 B9 C9 State and Main
January 26th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
B1 B5 B9 Heist
January 26th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
B2 B5 B8 Dracula
January 27th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Nice! That’s four more correct.
January 27th, 2010 at 12:35 am
A9 B5 C1 Amistad
January 27th, 2010 at 12:51 am
A8 B8 C8 Beetlejuice
January 27th, 2010 at 1:03 am
B4 B5 B6 Reds
January 27th, 2010 at 1:16 am
A1 B1 C1 Get Shorty
January 27th, 2010 at 1:18 am
A1 A5 A9 Being Human
January 27th, 2010 at 1:44 am
Being Human does have John Turturro and William H. Macy, but neither Billy Crudup nor Albert Finney.
The other four answers are correct.
Interestingly enough, William H. Macy, Ricky Jay, and Philip Seymour Hoffman appear in three films together. State and Main is my preferred answer for A9-B9-C9, but I also would have accepted Boogie Nights and Magnolia.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:48 am
A2 B2 C2 Mad Dog Time
January 27th, 2010 at 1:52 am
D’oh. I thought one of those people was someone else.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:56 am
I wouldn’t have recognized Albert Finney either. He’s changed a bit since Murder on the Orient Express. (That’s not one of the movies in this puzzle, and not for lack of trying.)
Mad Dog Time is good.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Great.
A1-A2-A3: O
A7-B4-C1: Glengarry Glen Ross (and Looking for Richard)
January 27th, 2010 at 9:48 am
C1-C2-C3: The Good Shepherd
C1-C4-C7: Searching for Bobby Fischer
January 27th, 2010 at 10:00 am
A4-B5-C6: The Edge
And apparently Edward Fox is important.
A7-B5-C3: A Month by the Lake
A5-B5-C5: Stage Beauty
January 27th, 2010 at 10:07 am
A3-B5-C7: Gandhi (Edward Fox! Who is this guy?)
C2-C5-C8: The Pink Panther 2
January 27th, 2010 at 10:17 am
A7-A8-A9: Deep Impact
A9-B6-C3: Wag the Dog
C7-C8-C9: Before and After
January 27th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Edward Fox is the man! Somehow, he’s managed to have a highly successful acting career without either of us noticing. I thought he was just along for the ride, but he turned out to be a big surprise. However, this was not the biggest surprise of B5…
Twelve points for Neel! Of course, Looking for Richard is a documentary, and against the rules of this particular puzzle, but that’s a nice catch.
25 themes to go!
January 27th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
The following 25 themes remain unsolved:
Rows
A4-A5-A6
B1-B2-B3
Columns
A1-A4-A7
A2-A5-A8
A3-A6-A9
B1-B4-B7
B3-B6-B9
C3-C6-C9
Pillars
A3-B3-C3
A4-B4-C4
A6-B6-C6
A7-B7-C7
Lateral Diagonals
A1-A5-A9
A3-A5-A7
B3-B5-B7
A1-B2-C3
A3-B2-C1
A6-B5-C4
A7-B8-C9
A9-B8-C7
A1-B4-C7
A2-B5-C8
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
Cross-Cube Diagonals
A1-B5-C9
January 28th, 2010 at 9:42 am
However, this was not the biggest surprise of B5…
I think I got it. Did you manage to construct this puzzle without using Michael Caine?
A1-A5-A9: Miller’s Crossing
A1-B5-C9: Red Dragon
A2-A5-A8: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
A3-A5-A7: Loophole
A3-A6-A9: Moll Flanders
A4-A5-A6: The Playboys
January 28th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Somehow, I managed to construct this puzzle without using Michael Caine. Welcome to the Anthony Hopkins show!
Ryan O’Neal isn’t used either, which means that the entire B5 burden is carried by three actors. In fact, none of the pictures in this puzzle uses more than three of the actors shown.
There’s six more points for Neel. 19 themes remain.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
The following 19 themes remain unsolved:
Rows
B1-B2-B3
Columns
A1-A4-A7
B1-B4-B7
B3-B6-B9
C3-C6-C9
Pillars
A3-B3-C3
A4-B4-C4
A6-B6-C6
A7-B7-C7
Lateral Diagonals
B3-B5-B7
A1-B2-C3
A3-B2-C1
A6-B5-C4
A7-B8-C9
A9-B8-C7
A1-B4-C7
A2-B5-C8
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
I guess we don’t have a lot of Titan A.E. fans around here.
January 29th, 2010 at 10:41 am
In fact, none of the pictures in this puzzle uses more than three of the actors shown.
I think that means no Christopher Walken.
Thanks for telling me that was Titan A.E. I had no clue. Still trying to figure out who the African-American actor is in A6 and the guy who could be Val Kilmer’s dad in C6.
January 29th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Yeah, Christopher Walken is not used. Actually, neither is Giancarlo Esposito, but if I cropped A6 to only show Christian Slater and Robin Wright Penn, it would have been too small and would have pixelated.
The man in C6 is John Savage. That one, you’ll need.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
That’s Giancarlo Esposito? Dude looks young.
John Savage — I’ve seen him in “Dark Angel” but would not have recognized him.
A6-B6-C6: The Crossing Guard
C3-C6-C9: The Deer Hunter
January 30th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Both correct! 17 themes remain.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:59 pm
[...] though this puzzle is still active, I thought it might be fun to return to a simpler [...]