Can You Name the Movie From The First Sentence of Its Wikipedia Page?

ENTERTAINMENT

By: Jonnathan Chadwick

7 Min Quiz

Image: Paramount Pictures/ 20th Century Fox/ Lightstorm Entertainment/ Paramount Pictures/ 20th Century Fox

About This Quiz

The motion picture has been called the greatest art advancement of the 20th century. We went from black-and-white silent shorts to 3D adventure experiences, and who knows what's next? We do know that everybody loves movies. Everybody has seen a movie they love, a movie they hate, a movie they can't remember and a movie they'll never forget.

There is no more objective description of every movie than the first line of its Wikipedia page. You might remember what you felt, when you laughed, why you cried, how you got mad and where you saw your favorite movie, but can you remember the objective facts? Who wrote it? What genre is it? Where was it filmed? When was it released? How was it produced? Why is it famous?

If you're a true movie buff, you know the biggest movie of every year and what films won every Academy Award. You might know every movie directed by every director and what years they were released. You might know every movie written by every writer or produced by every producer. If that's you, this quiz will be a breeze. If not, let's see how much you really know about the world's biggest films. Can you name the movie from the first sentence of its Wikipedia page?


"________ is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox."

The "Star Wars" franchise is one of the biggest movie franchises in the world, but the film's creator, George Lucas, thought the movie would flop back in 1977. It didn't, and the film was retroactively subtitled "Episode IV."

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"_______ is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone."

Sylvester Stallone wrote this movie and sold it under the condition he starred in the lead role. The film went on to attain massive success and birth several sequels. The movie is one of the few sports movies to win best picture at the Academy Awards.

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"________ is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet 'The Greatest Gift,' which Phillip Van Doren Stern wrote in 1939 and published privately in 1943."

Jimmy Stewart starred in this Frank Capra Christmas classic that's become a holiday staple across the world. The story follows George Bailey as he sees what the world would be like if he was never born.

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"________ is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Albert S. Ruddy, based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel of the same name."

"The Godfather" has been recognized as one of the best movies ever made. Both the first and second movie in the trilogy went on to win best picture at the Academy Awards. The third film didn't win any Oscars and was greeted with mixed reviews.

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"________ is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron."

"Titanic" is one of the biggest winners of all time, winning 11 Oscars at the 1998 Academy Awards, including best director and best picture. The disaster film also went on to gross more than $2 billion worldwide.

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"________ is a 2008 superhero film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan."

Christian Bale stars as Bruce Wayne in this superhero film that grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. The film also starred Heath Ledger as the Joker. Ledger posthumously won an Oscar for his supporting role as the villain.

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"________ is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella 'Rita Hayworth and ________.'"

"The Shawshank Redemption" might be the best movie adaptation of any Stephen King work. The novella was titled "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" and a poster of Rita Hayworth was integral to the plot.

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"________ is a 1999 science action film written and directed by the Wachowskis."

"The Matrix" was released in 1999 and its success spawned two sequels and many other spin-offs. It featured some of the best graphics audiences had seen and it went on to win four Oscars, including best film editing and best visual effects.

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"________ is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgard."

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon won the best original screenplay Oscar for this movie they co-wrote and starred in. Robin Williams won his only Oscar for his supporting role in the film. The movie is set in Boston but much of it was filmed elsewhere.

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"________ is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also starred in the lead role."

This 1988 classic is set to get a reboot with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall returning to star in the film. Murphy plays a prince from the fictional country of Zamunda who travels to Queens in New York City to find his queen.

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"________ is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name."

This 1977 thriller has been applauded for its technical achievements for decades. The mechanical shark used for the film was nicknamed after Spielberg's lawyer and required more than a dozen operators to control.

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"________ is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver."

"Avatar" is another James Cameron masterpiece and the film was supposed to be filmed and released immediately after "Titanic." The film was pushed back more than 10 years because the technology wasn't advanced enough. It became the first movie to gross $2 billion.

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"________ is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis."

Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis also star in this comedy alongside Bill Murray. It's one of the most successful comedies of all time and spawned an entire franchise and a few sequels. The original theme song also became a classic.

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"________ is a 1964 spy film and third installment in the 'James Bond' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond."

"Goldfinger" is the third Bond film behind "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love," but it's the first to win an Academy Award. The Bond series has grossed several billion dollars worldwide and "Goldfinger" is one of the highest grossing in the franchise.

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"________ is a 1994 American comedy film starring Jim Carrey as an animal detective who is tasked with finding the abducted dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins football team."

Jim Carrey starred in this film the same year he starred in "The Mask" and "Dumb and Dumber." Ace Ventura was so successful it led to a sequel and an animated television show. Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino makes a cameo in the film.

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"_________ is a 1975 American comedy-drama film directed by Milos Forman, based on the 1962 novel by Ken Kesey and the play version adapted from the novel by Dale Wasserman."

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is one of just three films to sweep the major Oscars at the Academy Awards. The first movie to do so was "It Happened One Night" and the most recent to do so was "The Silence of the Lambs."

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"________ is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 fairytale picture book of the same name by William Steig."

The children's book "Shrek!" was written in 1990 and was so successful Steven Spielberg snatched the movie rights the next year. The film won the Oscar for best animated feature and spawned three sequels and other spin-offs.

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"________ is a 1992 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut."

"Reservoir Dogs" is the film that introduced the world to Quentin Tarantino and his gory, vulgar, disordered way of telling a story. The film starred Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Quentin Tarantino and others.

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"________ is a 2003 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson, based on the third volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's '________.'"

The third film in the "Lord of the Rings" franchise is one of the most successful films in movie history. It was nominated for 11 Oscars and won all 11 of them, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best film editing and best visual effects.

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"________ is a 1998 American stoner comedy film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams and Guillermo Diaz."

Dave Chappelle was an established comedian with small roles in several films before he co-wrote and starred in "Half Baked." Chappelle wrote the movie with Neal Brennan. He and Brennan later collaborated to create Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show."

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"________ is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures."

There are four movies in the Avengers franchise and they are the four highest-grossing superhero movies of all time. The first film in the franchise grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide and the last film grossed more than $2.7 billion worldwide.

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"________ is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and produced and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Blatty."

"The Exorcist" became the first horror movie nominated for best picture at the Oscars after viewers complained of vomiting, fainting, heart attacks and miscarriages. It was nominated for 10 Oscars in total and won two, including best adapted screenplay.

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"________ is a 1942 romantic film directed by Michael Curtiz based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's unproduced stage play 'Everybody Comes to Rick's.'"

Rick Blaine's bar and club in Morocco plays center stage in this film about war and love. The film was released 10 days after Allied Forces captured Casablanca during World War II. The film won best picture and best director at the Oscars.

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"________ is a 2017 American horror film, written and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut."

Jordan Peele became the first African American to win the best original screenplay award at the Academy Awards for this 2017 horror thriller. The film was nominated for three other Oscars and was one of the most profitable films of the year.

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"________ is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her father's thumb and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). "

"It Happened One Night" was the first film to win best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay at the Academy Awards. Motion pictures began following strict ratings standards after a couple of famous scenes in the film.

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"________ is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's memoir."

Robert De Niro stars as boxing legend Jake LaMotta in this black-and-white sports classic considered by many to be Martin Scorsese's best film. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won two, including best actor for De Niro.

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"________ is a 1979 Australian dystopian action thriller film directed by George Miller, produced by Byron Kennedy, and starring Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns and Roger Ward."

"Mad Max" is one of the most successful dystopian action films ever, and birthed three sequels with more on the way. George Miller directed all of them and Mel Gibson starred in the first three films. Tom Hardy took over the lead role in the fourth film.

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"________ is a 1962 British epic historical drama film based on the life of T.E. Lawrence."

T.E. Lawrence was an archaeologist and military intelligence officer from Britain. This film was released almost 30 years after his death and it won seven of the 10 Oscars it was nominated for. It's the longest film to win best picture, at more than 3 hours and 40 minutes long.

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"________ is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter."

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton face off against each other in this cult classic from the end of the '90s. The movie wasn't successful upon initial release but later found success. Today it's considered one of the best cult classics.

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"________ is a 1979 epic war film about the Vietnam War, directed, produced and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola."

The controversial production of "Apocalypse Now" is just as famous as the movie itself. The production went years over schedule and Coppola ended up spending $30 million of his own money to finish the project.

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"________ is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell."

After adjusting for inflation, "Gone with the Wind" is the highest-grossing movie of all time with more than $3.7 billion in sales worldwide. The film is also one of the longest films to win best picture at the Academy Awards.

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"_______ is a 2005 American sex comedy film directed by Judd Apatow in his directorial debut."

Judd Apatow is known as one of the best comedy writers in Hollywood, and this classic starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd shot him to superstardom. He's since mastered the romantic comedy and has written and directed several hits.

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"________ is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway."

Legend has it the film's writer was offered five times as much money to write a screenplay for "The Great Gatsby" but turned it down because he thought it couldn't be better than the original. "Chinatown" went on to win best original screenplay at the Oscars.

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"________ is a 1976 neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris and Albert Brooks."

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are famously known for collaborating on some of the world's best mob movies, but this psychological thriller about a taxi driver is one of their best. Jodie Foster was just 12 when she was cast and 14 when she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as a child prostitute.

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"________ is a 1941 American drama film by Orson Welles, its producer, co-screenwriter, director and star."

"Citizen Kane" is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Legend has it Hearst went to great lengths to prevent the movie from being released, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Today, the film is considered by many to be the best movie ever made.

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