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The Films of 1985

Trivia, Word Search, and a Quiz

On October 19, the first Blockbuster store opens in Dallas, Texas. It offers customers the ability to rent VHS and Betamax tapes of their favorite films for their VCRs at home. The company would eventually become the largest video rental chain in the world. At its peak in 2004, 84,000 people were employed in 9,000 stores worldwide.

Despite expanding into DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2010 and stores began to close across the country. Evidently people preferred the convenience of DVD-by-mail and video-on-demand services. But not everyone —at least in Bend, Oregon. As of 2019, that's where you'll find the last fully operation Blockbuster store in the world.

Here's some more trivia from the world of cinema in 1985:

  • Actresses born this year include Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan. Two decades later they would both star in Pride & Prejudice (2005), and then again in another five years in Never Let Me Go (2010). Also born this year is Anna Kendrick and actor Frankie Muniz.
  • Actresses making their film debuts include Joan Allen in the comedy Compromising Positions, Fairuza Balk in the dark fantasy Return to Oz, Helena Bonham Carter in the period drama A Room with a View, Brigitte Nielsen in the sword and sorcery film Red Sonja, and Mira Sorvino in the sci-fi horror film The Stuff. Billy Zane also makes his first appearance in the teen adventure Back to the Future, as does Elias Koteas in the holiday fantasy One Magic Christmas, and Dolph Lundgren in the fourteenth Bond film A View to a Kill. Tim Burton makes his directing debut in the quirky comedy Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
  • Topper (1937) becomes the first black-and-white feature film to be colorized using computer technology.
  • On December 13, Clue is released and becomes the first film entirely based on a board game. Three endings were shot, but only one is shown to audiences depending on which theater was selected.
  • Yul Brynner, who starred in the 1956 classics The King and I and The Ten Commandments, dies this year. Phil Silvers and Ricky Nelson also die this year.

1985 Films Word Search

The films in the following two word searches were films released in 1985. 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 1985. They each have 36 terms hidden in a large 34 × 32 letter grid.

Cocoon The Goonies Desperately Seeking Susan Weird Science

10 Question Quiz on 1985 Films

How well do you know what came out on the Silver Screen in 1985? Take our quiz and find out. There's no time limit and no scoring. Just have fun!

1. Which up-and-coming singer stars opposite Rosanna Arquette in Desperately Seeking Susan just as the release of her second album launches her to music superstardom?

A. Madonna
B. Whitney Houston
C. Gloria Estefan
D. Cyndi Lauper

2. What was The Falcon and the Snowman about?

A. Comedy duo
B. Espionage
C. Falconry
D. Landscapers

3. What model car was retrofitted by Doc that accidently sends Marty McFly time-traveling back to 1955 in Back to the Future?

A. Datsun
B. DeLorean
C. Daimler
D. Dodge

4. Which actor did NOT have a role in The Color Purple?

A. Danny Glover
B. Whoopi Goldberg
C. Oprah Winfrey
D. Pam Grier

5. What ultimately happens to escaped prisoner Manny (played by Jon Voight) who becomes stuck on a Runaway Train as it barrels out-of-control through an Alaskan snowstorm?

A. He escapes
B. He is captured
C. He dies
D. He is pardoned

6. What gives a group of elderly people youthful vigor in Cocoon?

A. Caterpillars
B. Vacation
C. Aliens
D. Yoga

7. What was the working title of Terry Gilliam's dystopian Brazil?

A. 1984 ½
B. Kafka's Kiss
C. The Ordeal
D. Castle City

8. Meryl Streep plays what type of character in the romantic drama Out of Africa?

A. War reporter
B. Safari guide
C. Primatologist
D. Plantation owner

9. Which of the following is NOT a character name in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome?

A. Master Blaster
B. The Collector
C. Dome Dan
D. Aunty Entity

10. Which of the follow best describes Transylvania 6-5000?

A. Western
B. Animation
C. Documentary
D. Comedy

Want more? We have another page on the cinema of 1985

Explore other years in the world of cinema

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