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The Films of 1980

Trivia, Word Search, and a Quiz

In 1978 The Deer Hunter was released, winning five Academy Awards including Best Picture. It was such a success, United Artists figured its director, Michael Cimino could do no wrong and effectively gave him an unlimited budget for his next project. But they could not have been more wrong. Heaven's Gate was such an unmitigated financial disaster, it nearly caused the production company to go bankrupt that year. To this day Heaven's Gate is considered one of the biggest box office bombs of all time.

Here's some more trivia from the world of cinema in 1980:

  • Actors and actresses born this year include Kristen Bell, Michelle Williams, Ben Foster, Ryan Gosling, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Interestingly, Macaulay Culkin and Chris Pine were both born on August 26.
  • Catherine O'Hara made her big screen debut in the romantic comedy Nothing Personal, and so did Ed O'Neill in the crime thriller Cruising, Michelle Pfeiffer in the teen comedy The Hollywood Knights, Judge Reinhold in the action-adventure Running Scared, Sharon Stone in the comedy-drama Stardust Memories, David Strathairn in the indie film Return of the Secaucus Seven, John Turturro in the biographical sports drama Raging Bull, Hugo Weaving in the Australian feature Maybe This Time, Dianne Wiest in the romantic It's My Turn, Bruce Willis in the crime thriller The First Deadly Sin and Sean Young in the romantic drama Jane Austen In Manhattan.
  • Ronald 'The Gipper' Reagan, former actor and Screen Actors Guild president, wins the U.S. Presidential election on November 4.
  • The film library of Monogram Pictures (later Allied Artists) was bought by the television production company Lorimar.
  • Peter Sellers, who starred in the Pink Panther series of films, dies this year. Also dying is Steve McQueen, star of The Great Escape (1963) and Bullitt (1968).

1980 Films Word Search

The films in the following two word searches were films released in 1980. Just like all the films on this page (unless otherwise noted).

The first word search is easy: 20 film titles hidden in a small 22 × 20 letter grid. The second is more challenging: 36 film titles in a large 34 × 32 letter grid.

So load your printer with standard 8.5" × 11" paper, download, hit print and start solving. Our PDF files print out beautifully and are always free to download on our site.

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More Word Searches

These word search puzzles are on particular films from 1980. They each have 36 terms hidden in a large 34 × 32 letter grid.

The Shining Airplane! Private Benjamin Caddyshack

10 Question Quiz on 1980 Films

How well do you know what came out on the Silver Screen in 1980? Take our quiz and find out. There's no time limit and no scoring. Just have fun!

1. This actor's directorial debut, Ordinary People, won Best Picture. He also won Best Director for this film, although he never won a Best Actor award for any of his memorable roles. Who is this actor?

A. Clint Eastwood
B. Robert Redford
C. Orson Welles
D. Woody Allen

2. How many times did Mark Hamill have to smack his head on the ceiling of Yoda's hut during the filming of The Empire Strikes Back before the director was satisfied with the scene?

A. Three
B. Five
C. Eight
D. Sixteen

3. Which actor or actress was NOT in David Lynch's The Elephant Man?

A. Anthony Hopkins
B. Anne Bancroft
C. Shelley Winters
D. John Hurt

4. What does Jake, played by John Belushi, order to wash down his four fried chickens in The Blues Brothers?

A. Pepsi
B. Dr. Pepper
C. Grape Nehi
D. Coke

5. Which was the only airline to buy Airplane! as their in-flight entertainment?

A. Aeromexico
B. Air Canada
C. American Airlines
D. Delta Airlines

6. What type of workplace was depicted in 9 to 5, which starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton?

A. Coffee Shop
B. Hospital
C. Office
D. Factory

7. Who co-starred with Susan Sarandon in Atlantic City?

A. Robert Mitchum
B. Kirk Douglas
C. Burt Lancaster
D. James Stewart

8. John Travolta originally turned down the lead role in American Gigolo before Richard Gere took it up. This has also happened on the following films except for one. Which one is the exception?

A. Days of Heaven (1978)
B. No Mercy (1986)
C. Chicago (2002)

9. Robert Altman's Popeye was set in the fictional port town of Sweethaven. Where was the actual filming location?

A. Malta
B. Vietnam
C. Bermuda
D. Walt Disney Studios

10. After Goldie Hawn signed onto Private Benjamin, she went through boot camp training for how many weeks?

A. One
B. Two
C. Six
D. Zero

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