The Films of 1988
Trivia, Word Search, and a Quiz
With its release on May 25, Rambo III becomes the most expensive film ever made with an estimated prodution budget of $63 million. Although it was not the hit it was intended to be, it was not a flop either and went on to gross roughly three times that amount.
Contrast that to the much beloved Die Hard released a few weeks later. This action film will ultimately gross an amount that rivals what Sylvester Stallone brings in but with less than half the budget.
Here's some more trivia from the world of cinema in 1988:
- Future stars born this year include Michael Cera and Emma Stone. They will go on to star together in Superbad (2007).
- Stars appearing on the big screen for the first time include Annette Bening in the comedy The Great Outdoors, Matt Damon in the teen comedy Mystic Pizza, David Duchovny in the romantic comedy Working Girl, Neil Patrick Harris in the drama Clara's Heart, Jane Lynch in the fantasy comedy Vice Versa, David Hyde Pierce in the tragic drama Bright Lights, Big City, Alan Rickman in the action thriller Die Hard, Steven Seagal in the crime thriller Above the Law, and Marlon Wayans in the parody film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.
- Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ opens in August despite objections by Christian groups who felt the film was sacrilegious.
- Ron Howard's fantasy film Willow introduces audiences to digital morphing for the first time.
- John Houseman, who played a caustic law-school professor in The Paper Chase (1973), dies at 86, as does Anne Ramsey of The Goonies (1985). Interestingly, they both shared final appearances in this year's Scrooged. Also dying is actor John Carradine who appeared in more than 200 films including the 1940 classic The Grapes of Wrath.
1988 Films Word Search
The films in the following two word searches were films released in 1988. 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.
More Word Searches
These word search puzzles are on particular films from 1988. They each have 36 terms hidden in a large 34 × 32 letter grid.
Colors Beetlejuice Young Guns A Fish Called Wanda
10 Question Quiz on 1988 Films
How well do you know what came out on the Silver Screen in 1988? Take our quiz and find out. There's no time limit and no scoring. Just have fun!
1. What is the nickname given to Sean Penn's LAPD character in Dennis Hopper's Colors?
Hint: it is taken from a popular 1980 maze video game.
2. What type of film is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
3. The zany title character of Beetlejuice surprisingly has just 17 minutes of screen time. Which actor portrayed that character?
4. Which cocktail was NOT mentioned in Tom Cruise's Cocktail and is, quite frankly, completely made-up and nonexistent?
5. What is Rain Man about?
6. Gorillas in the Mist is based on the true story of Dian Fossey, played by Sigourney Weaver, who devotes her life to the study of primates in Africa. What ulitmately happens to Dian?
7. At the end of Twins, fraternal twin brothers Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito marry their respective girlfriends who are themselves sisters. What do they do next?
8. Hollywood often uses fictional African country names for films. Which of the following is used for Eddie Murphy's Coming to America?
9. In Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Steve Martin and Michael Caine compete to swindle an heiress out of $50,000. What does she do at the end of the film?
10. Which NFL running back for the Buffalo Bills stars in the slapstick comedy The Naked Gun opposite Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley?
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