About This Quiz
It's great to see movies with simple titles, and we know there are many of them. But there are also many movies with really long titles. If you removed an article here, conjunction there, or a preposition here and there, would you still be able to guess what movie we're talking about? Now, this is really a quiz for the sharpest of eyes!
Movies with one-word titles or even two-word titles are very awesome and catchy, but sometimes, the movies with the longer titles are more fun to remember for some people. That's because what they got going for them is this concept called "unique selling point." Imagine that the first thing one would remember about a film is not really its story nor the title, but the actors. And often, these actors are personal favorites of viewers. So to add to the second layer of interest would be this move: give these actors cool movie projects that have a great tandem of a memorable story and a catchy title. That will then complete people's curiosities and hook them to no end - until the next movie comes along, that is.
So, let's see if any of these popular and classic films were memorable enough for you to remember their titles. Just fill in the blanks with the correct preposition and you're good to go. Action!
It's no doubt that the 2007 film, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," has one of the longest titles in recent cinematic history. The film starred co-producer Brad Pitt essaying the role of Jesse James while Casey Affleck played Robert Ford.
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"From Here To Eternity" is set amidst a military backdrop, as the story takes place right before the historic bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. But it's primarily a drama, and a romantic film at that, since it highlights the personal life and romantic dalliances of soldiers and officers in that area.
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"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is the 2007 film that had Johnny Depp portraying Captain Jack Sparrow for the third time, accompanied by his original co-stars, Orlando Bloom as Will Turner and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann. Prior to this, they first appeared in 2003's "The Curse of the Black Pearl," then in 2006's "Dead Man's Chest."
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The 1955 James Dean classic, "Rebel Without A Cause," was a pivotal film in world cinema because it introduced and legitimized the concept of "teen angst" in American culture, and later, in pop and world culture as well. Natalie Wood also co-starred, and Sal Mineo played an important role here that subtly hints of homoeroticism and homosexuality at a time when these concepts were banned in Hollywood.
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"Call Me By Your Name" was one of the hottest "talk of the town" movies in 2017 when it was first released, as well as in 2018 when it was nominated for several Academy Awards. The coming-of-age film was based on a 2007 novel penned by André Aciman.
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"Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" is a dramatization of actual events that happened in the wild west era of America in 1881. The film version starred Burt Lancaster playing the hero of that event, Wyatt Earp.
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"The Sound of Music" has to be one of the most recognizable movie musicals of all time, even up to now, which proves that this 1965 film is a certified timeless classic. Generations continue to enjoy the music and lyrics made by Rodgers and Hammerstein, one of the best musical duos to come out of the American cultural scene.
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The classic film, "Gone with the Wind," has so many unforgettable quotes we've often heard that people don't realize they originally came from this movie. One of them is Rhett Butler's classic line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," and another is Scarlett O'Hara's line, "After all, tomorrow is another day!"
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The 2014 Disney movie musical, "Into the Woods," was directed by Rob Marshall, and adapted from the stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Its story combines many fairy tale characters and elements familiar to people worldwide, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and even Cinderella, all woven together in a narrative that's fun to watch.
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The 1995 film, "Die Hard with a Vengeance," is the third in the "Die Hard" series of films. In this installment, reluctant hero John McClane faces off with an enemy named Simon Gruber, who turns out to be the brother of the enemy he had in the first film, Hans Gruber.
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People of the '90s can't get enough of this very talkie film called "Before Sunrise," starring their favorite cinematic slacker, Ethan Hawke, and French beauty Julie Delpy. This 1995 film had a sequel entitled "Before Sunset," released in 2001, then another called "Before Midnight," released in 2013.
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The intriguing dystopian 2005 film called "V for Vendetta" starred a very passionate Natalie Portman in the lead, with co-star Hugo Weaving wearing a Guy Fawkes mask throughout this political thriller. The material is based on the graphic novel penned by Alan Moore.
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"A River Runs Through It" was directed by Robert Redford. It featured Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer and Tom Skerritt. The 1992 film is based on a semi-autobiographical book penned by Norman Maclean, the character played by Sheffer as an adult and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young boy.
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"About Last Night" is the 1980s film that featured the life of yuppies, or young urban professionals, which came out prominently as a demographic during that era. The 1986 comedy film is based on a David Mamet play called "Sexual Perversity in Chicago," so it's not really hard to figure out what the film is about based on that title alone.
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The 2018 fantasy film, "The House With a Clock In Its Walls" had an impressive cast that included Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, and Kyle MacLachlan. The film was based on a novel penned by young adult author John Bellairs and published in 1973.
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The 1963 James Bond film, "From Russia With Love," was based on the 1957 novel penned by author Ian Fleming. The film marks Sean Connery's second appearance as Agent 007. The 1962 film, "Dr. No," was his first time ever to play the role of James Bond.
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The 1952 film, "The Greatest Show on Earth," featured many classic Hollywood actors in a story about circus life. Cecil B. De Mille directed the film which featured Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, and Betty Hutton, to name a few.
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Leave it to Woody Allen to create cinematic gems throughout his lifetime, including the highly nominated 1994 film, "Bullets Over Broadway." It has an ensemble cast that includes Dianne Wiest, who won an Oscar for her role, Chazz Palminteri, John Cusack, Jennifer Tilly, Jim Broadbent, Mary-Louise Parker, Rob Reiner, and Harvey Fierstein.
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The world first saw the martial arts action moves of Steven Seagal in the 1988 film, "Above The Law." It also starred Sharon Stone and Pam Grier. Seagal also received credit as a producer.
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Critically acclaimed director Sidney Lumet helmed a film in the '90s which wasn't received well, even if it was an entry in the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival in 1992. That film is entitled "A Stranger Among Us" and stars Melanie Griffith essaying the role of a New York detective.
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There's a series of war films entitled "Behind Enemy Lines" made since 2001 depicting modern-day warfare efforts involving the U.S. Armed Forces. The first film released in 2001, stars Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson. It was followed by three more movies with this same vein. David Carradine also starred in a movie with the same title in 1986, but that one was set during the Vietnam War era.
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"Back to the Future" is a trilogy of films directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Michael J. Fox in the lead. The film is now a cult classic, and its various elements have seeped into global pop culture, such as the famous time machine car, the hoverboard, and even the Nike sneakers that lace themselves up!
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"Under the Tuscan Sun" is a 2003 rom-com starring Diane Lane. It is set in romantic Italy and features characters with not-so-romantic lives at the beginning of the movie. The film is based on a 1996 book penned by Frances Mayes; it's actually her memoir, and Lane played her in the film.
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The award-winning drama, "On Golden Pond," featured two generations of Fondas in the lead -- dad Henry Fonda, who bagged an Oscar for the role he played, and his real-life daughter, Jane Fonda, who co-starred as his daughter in the film. Katharine Hepburn also won the best actress Oscar for her role.
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The 1998 film, "Shakespeare in Love," won Gwyneth Paltrow an Oscar for Best Actress and Judi Dench an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, aside from bagging the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for writers Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Joseph Fiennes played The Bard in this film, set during the time when the famous playwright was writing what would become "Romeo and Juliet."
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"Raiders of the Lost Ark" was titled as such when it first came out in 1981. But the highly successful film spawned a successful series where Indiana Jones' name was included in the title. The original film was then re-marketed as "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." It was the first in the four-film series.
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The wildly successful 1968 film, "Planet of the Apes," spawned many sequels, the first being the 1970 continuation called "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." In this film, Charlton Heston played a supporting role, as opposed to his starring role in the first movie. The next movie was 1972's "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" and the last was 1973's "Battle for the Planet of the Apes." The 2010's reboot films are a different discourse altogether, but nothing beats the classics!
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Peter Jackson's highly imaginative take on the popular J.R.R. Tolkien novel series, "Lord of the Rings," began with first book's story entitled "The Fellowship of the Ring." After doing all three films successfully, Jackson then went back and chopped up the solo book "prequel" to this series called "The Hobbit," which he made into three very long separate films. It made LOTR and Tolkien fans happy, of course.
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Perhaps the soundtrack for 1984's "Against All Odds" became more popular than the movie itself. The title song by Phil Collins was one of the biggest songs of that year. The romantic thriller starred Rachel Ward, James Woods, and Jeff Bridges.
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If you get the stage director of "The Lion King" to direct a movie musical where the songs of the legendary Beatles help tell the narrative, you get "Across The Universe." The film received mixed reviews despite making its debut at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, and featuring actors such as Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Evan Rachel Wood, and T.V. Carpio in important roles.
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The 2013 sci-fi film, "After Earth," was directed by M. Night Shyamalan and featured two main actors who are father and son in reel and real life: Will Smith and Jaden Smith. The movie wasn't exactly a huge flop, but it didn't get rave reviews from critics or viewers.
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The super-funny and super-interesting 1997 sci-fi comedy "Men in Black" came from a comic book authored by Lowell Cunningham. Two more films followed the first. Another one is in the works. It's entitled "Men in Black: International" and has a totally new cast.
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Martin Lawrence appeared in this 1996 dark comedy film called "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate." He co-starred with Lynn Whitfield, best remembered for playing Josephine Baker in the 1991 HBO film bio, "The Josephine Baker Story."
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Before actor Oscar Isaac got bigger box-office recognition in films such as "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Ex Machina," he starred in indie-feel films such as "Inside Llewyn Davis." The 2013 period film was directed by the Coen brothers, where Isaac essayed the role of a struggling folk singer.
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Martin Scorsese sure knows how to flesh out great performances from his actors, and that's what he did here with Leonardo DiCaprio playing real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort in 2013's "The Wolf of Wall Street." Prior to this, the two worked together in other notable films such as "Shutter Island," "Gangs of New York," "The Departed," and "The Aviator."
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