How many '80s movies can you ID from just one image?
by Carolyn Fleming
Paramount Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions
The ‘80s had their own style, in terms of music, fashion, and even politics. Movies in the ‘80s were different as well—many romantic comedies, action movies, and coming-of-age stories, but absolutely no full-length computer-animated movies. How many ‘80s movies do you remember well enough to identify from just one image? Grab some Doritos 3D or Fruit Roll-Ups, and let’s find out!
1: What is the iconic 1980 entry in the Star Wars saga, counted as either the second or the fifth movie in the franchise?
Lucasfilm
1980's The Empire Strikes Back was the second to be released, following the original Star Wars in 1977. The thing is, the original trilogy was followed by a prequel trilogy, then a sequel trilogy. The original 1977 Star Wars was later renamed Episode IV—A New Hope, and the1980 movie was renamed Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back. Got all that?
2: Do you remember which ‘80s movie was released with three different endings?
Paramount Pictures, The Guber-Peters Company, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Clue, released in 1985, had three different endings to best reflect the board game that inspired it. Was the murderer Mrs. Peacock (Eileen Brennan), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Colonel Mustard (Martin Mull), or Miss Scarlet (Lesley Ann Warren)? Don’t even get us started on weapons or rooms.
3: In what ‘80s movie does a crown prince take a job at a fast-food restaurant?
Paramount Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions
In the movie Coming to America, Eddie Murphy played a crown prince from Zamunda who comes to America—specifically to Queens, New York—to find a bride. While undercover, he and his aide take jobs at McDowell’s, a burger restaurant. Adding to the fun, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall played multiple roles, including old men at a barber shop.
4: A DeLorean plays an important role in which ‘80s film?
Dr. Emmett Brown creates a nuclear-powered time machine out of a DeLorean in Back to the Future. The stainless-steel car has to reach a speed of exactly 88 miles per hour before it can transport passengers to another time.
5: Bill Murray played Carl Spackler in which of his ‘80s movies?
Orion Pictures
In the movie Caddyshack, Bill Murray played groundskeeper Carl Spackler. He is out to destroy a gopher who is damaging the golf course where he works. Some say that Caddyshack is the greatest sports comedy of all time.
6: Can you tell us which movie includes the line “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way”?
Touchstone Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Silver Screen Partners III
This famous line is spoken by the sexy human toon character Jessica Rabbit, who is married to a rabbit toon. In the world of this movie, toon characters are sentient beings, and they interact with actual humans. Toons live in Toontown, of course.
7: Prince starred as The Kid in which ‘80s movie?
Warner Bros.
Prince starred as The Kid in the semi-autobiographical movie Purple Rain. The soundtrack, which features When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, and Purple Rain, won an Academy Award for best original song score.
8: Which 1980 movie introduced the world to Jason Voorhees?
Paramount Pictures, Georgetown Productions Inc.
Jason Voorhees is not the main antagonist in the first Friday the 13th movie, but he plays a pivotal role. He is a major threat to teenagers in the movie’s many sequels.
9: Can you name the movie with the famous scene of Tom Cruise dancing in just a pink Oxford shirt, socks, and briefs?
The Geffen Company
People who haven’t even seen Risky Business know about the famous scene when Tom Cruise slides across the floor in his stocking feet, dancing to Bob Seger’s song Old Time Rock and Roll. It’s been parodied countless times in other movies, comedy skits, and commercials. Even Alf the alien and Homer Simpson have recreated Tom Cruise’s moves.
10: Eddie Murphy played Axel Foley in which of his ‘80s movies?
Paramount Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Eddie Murphy Productions
Eddie Murphy played Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. In fact, the movie’s theme song is Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer. At one point, Sylvester Stallone was going to play the detective—and how different would Beverly Hills Cop have been then?
11: Do you remember which ‘80s movie is about a soap opera star named Dorothy Michaels?
Columbia Pictures, Mirage Enterprises, Punch Productions
The 1982 movie Tootsie is a comedy that starred actor Dustin Hoffman in drag. He played an actor named Michael Dorsey who has a reputation for being difficult. In order to find work, Dorsey dresses up as a woman named Dorothy Michaels and finds success in the soap opera world.
12: Which ‘80s movie inspired the now-famous logo for Amblin’ Entertainment?
Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment
The iconic shot of E.T. and his human friend Elliott riding a bicycle across the sky in front of the moon inspired the logo for Steven Spielberg’s production company, Amblin Entertainment. To keep details about E.T. from leaking during filming, Spielberg gave it a boring working title: A Boy’s Life.
13: Do you remember which movie gave us the line “Come play with us”?
Warner Bros., Hawk Films, Peregrine
In The Shining, two ghostly little girls in blue ask young Danny Torrence to play with them. They’re commonly referred to as the Grady twins, because they’re dressed alike, but they are actually 8- and 10-year-olds in both the Stephen King novel and the 1980 film.
14: In which movie do crew members have trouble communicating because of their names?
Paramount Pictures, Howard W. Koch Productions
There's a real communication breakdown in the cockpit in Airplane! When someone says “roger,” co-pilot Roger Murdock says, “Huh?” When someone says “over,” Captain Oveur says, ”What?” And, of course, someone has to ask flight navigator Victor Basta, “What’s our vector, Victor?” Who’s on first?
15: Which comedy-horror film features only songs that are about the moon?
Polygram Pictures, Lyncanthrope Films, American Werewolf
An American Werewolf in London is a dark comedy about … a werewolf. Appropriately, the soundtrack includes Blue Moon, Moondance, and Bad Moon Rising. An American Werewolf in London features makeup and special effects that were amazing at the time—and it won the Academy Award for best makeup.
16: What ‘80’s drama tells the true story of Joseph Merrick, who lived with severe growth abnormalities?
Brooksfilms
Joseph Merrick, born in 1862, lived a difficult life due to severe growth abnormalities. As an adult, his head circumference was approximately 3 feet. In real life, he chose to appear in a human oddities show for a short time, billed as the Elephant Man. Mel Brooks, the well-known comedy producer who created Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs, backed the Elephant Man film, but he kept his name out of the credits to avoid making audiences think it would be a comedy.
17: Which 1984 movie is set in a small town in Oklahoma where dancing is banned?
Paramount Pictures, Phoenix Pictures, IndieProd Company Productions
Kevin Bacon starred in Footloose, playing a teen named Ren who moves from Chicago to a small town in Oklahoma. He is dismayed to find out that dancing is illegal. As you might expect, he sets out to change all of that. Tom Cruise was considered for the role of Ren, following his famous dancing scene in Risky Business. Luckily for Bacon, Cruise was filming All the Right Moves at the time.
18: Do you remember which ‘80s movie is about the classical composer Mozart?
AMLF, The Saul Zaentz Company
The 1984 movie Amadeus was inspired by a Broadway play. Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, wanted to audition for the lead role, but Milos Forman, the director, refused to consider him. Forman did not want his movie to be associated with Star Wars. Believe it or not, Hamill starred in Amadeus on Broadway in 1983.
19: Which movie is about a girl named Andie who makes her own prom dress?
Paramount Pictures
Andie doesn’t fit in with the rich kids at her school, and she has her own sense of style. We won’t give away the ending here (a spoiler from 1986?), but just know that Andie ended up with a different boy after test audiences disapproved of the film’s original ending. The title Pretty in Pink was inspired by a Psychedelic Furs song.
20: Which ‘80s movie features actor Alan Rickman falling from the fictional Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper?
Twentieth Century Fox, Gordon Company, Silver Pictures
Alan Rickman was expecting to fall backward onto a crash pad on the count of three, with help from a rope, but the stunt coordinator released him early so Rickman would express genuine surprise (or fear). It worked! Incidentally, the title Die Hard was translated to Die Slowly in Germany, The Glass Trap in Poland, and Action Skyscraper in Norway.