We'll Give You the Plotline, You Tell Us the ’70s Movie Title

By: Jonnathan Chadwick
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
We'll Give You the Plotline, You Tell Us the ’70s Movie Title
Image: Lucasfilm

About This Quiz

"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya?" 

It's going to take more than luck to get all the questions on this quiz correct. It's going to take a love of film, and, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." So if you get halfway through the quiz and find yourself scratching your head and saying, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" then this quiz may not be for you. Just exit out of the screen, say "la-dee-da, la-dee-da" and call it a day.

And if you want to swear off '70s flicks as your mortal enemies, just remember to, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Maybe, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." So get your head in the game, finish strong, and go drink some beers and chant "Toga! Toga!" with your best buddies once you finish. And if you're hungover the next morning, never underestimate "the smell of napalm in the morning." It's better than coffee.

So, seriously, how well do you know '70s flicks? We'll give you the plot of one of the decade's most popular movies and you have to pick the movie. "May the Force be with you."

The epic battle of a killer beast versus three men who are going to need a bigger boat.
The Moonshine War
Jaws
"Jaws," which came out in 1975, was Stephen Spielberg's first major feature film. It turned him into a star and the movie is still considered a masterpiece in special effects and horror. Legend has it that the iconic line, "You're gonna need a bigger boat," wasn't scripted but ad-libbed.
Walk the Walk
The Exorcist

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A poor boy finds a golden ticket that leads to a world of pure imagination.
The Exorcist
Airport
Love Story
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" was released in 1971 and Gene Wilder's performance as Willy Wonka remains the iconic Willy Wonka performance to this day. The story follows a boy from a poor family who finds one of Wonka's golden tickets and gets invited to the magical factory.

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The son of a Mafia don learns how to make offers people can't refuse.
Hercules in New York
The Godfather
"The Godfather" is considered by many to be the greatest movie of all time. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo, the story of the Corleone family turned Al Pacino into a legend. It was the third major film he ever did and his career skyrocketed right after.
The Last Warrior
Airport

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The story of a man who's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Antman
Batman
Superman
Superman began appearing on screen in animated shorts in 1941. In 1951, the first Superman movie was released called, "Superman and the Mole Men," but in 1978, the "Man of Steel" - played by Christopher Reeve - finally got a film simply titled, "Superman."
Aquaman

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Insomniac loner sets out to clean the filthy streets of NYC.
Taxi Driver
Robert De Niro was fresh off the success of "The Godfather II" and "Mean Streets" when he landed in the lead role in the Martin Scorsese-directed "Taxi Driver." De Niro worked 15 hours a day driving cabs to prepare for the role of Travis Bickle.
Alex in Wonderland
Bigfoot
Catch-22

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A comedian talks to viewers about his upbringing and relationship with a nightclub singer.
The Day of the Jackal
The Great White Hope
Diary of a Mad Housewife
Annie Hall
Woody Allen wrote, directed and starred in this 1977 film that is considered to be his masterpiece. Sigourney Weaver made her screen debut in a non-speaking role toward the end of the film, and Diane Keaton's real name is Diane Hall and her nickname is Annie. She plays the title role of Annie Hall.

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There's only one man who can cure a little girl who has the ability to levitate, speak in tongues, and rotate her head 360 degrees.
Foul Play
Last Tango in Paris
The Exorcist
When adjusted for inflation, "The Exorcist" (1973) is the highest-grossing film in Warner Brothers history. Linda Blair, who played the demonized girl, received so many death threats for staring in the film that the studio got her bodyguards for six months following the film's release.
The Goodbye Girl

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The covert mission to terminate a crazed colonel in the middle of the Vietnam jungle while an air cavalry officer searches for the perfect surfing spot.
Kramer vs. Kramer
The Deer Hunter
Born on the 4th of July
Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando and Robert Duvall teamed up again for this satirical look at the Vietnam War. Al Pacino turned down the role that was played by Martin Sheen because he didn't want to be in a swamp for five months. Filming actually took 16 months. If Pacino had said yes, it would have been a "Godfather" reunion.

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The stories of how a Mafia don rose to power and how his son is handling his new power.
Save the Tiger
The Way We Were
The Godfather II
"The Godfather: Part II" was released two years after the original and is considered by many to be just as good, if not better, than the original. It went on to win Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture, and De Niro won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
All the President's Men

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The crew of a deep space mission awakens to find an alien ship full of alien eggs.
The Goodbye Girl
Alien
"Alien" was released in 1979 featuring Sigourney Weaver in a leading role and was directed by Ridley Scott. Anyone who has seen the movie can remember the ugliness of the alien in the movie, and to create the tendons of his jaws, makeup artists used shredded condoms.
Hair
The Sting

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A man and his crew in futuristic England roam the streets looking for innocent victims until he gets "cured" and becomes a victim himself.
The Career of a Chambermaid
Planet of the Apes
The Wing or The Thigh?
A Clockwork Orange
"A Clockwork Orange" was released in 1971 and is considered one of Stanley Kubrick's masterpieces. Kubrick's first cut of the film ran for more than four hours, and after hiring several assistant editors, it was cut to 135 minutes. Kubrick had an assistant destroy all the unused footage.

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New York City cops do everything they can to stop a shipment of drugs coming from France.
Three Days of the Condor
Midnight Express
The French Connection
Gene Hackman was mostly known for short films, TV shows and just a handful of movies before landing the lead role in "The French Connection," which went on to win five Oscars, including one for Hackman for his performance as Jimmy Doyle.
La Grande Bouffe

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A former prisoner butts heads with a nurse who runs her psychiatric ward with an iron fist.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is based on the Ken Kesey novel of the same name and the film went on to "sweep" the Academy Awards, winning Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. "It Happened One Night" (1934) and "Silence of the Lambs" (1991) are the only other movies to have done so.
Marathon Man
The China Syndrome
Equus

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A 6-year-old murderer returns to the town of his crime 15 years later to wreak havoc.
Friday the 13th
Halloween
With a relatively unknown Jamie Lee Curtis starring in her first movie, "Halloween" - which was released in 1978 - was an independent film with a budget of just $300,000. The film went on to gross $47 million at the box office.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Exorcist

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Soldiers in the medical unit enjoy martini parties as bombs drop in the Korean War.
Animal House
Odds and Evens
M*A*S*H
Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall star in this 1970 comedy based on the Korean War. The film was based on a 1968 book and then went on to inspire a 1972 TV show that aired for 11 years to much fanfare and success.
Dirty Harry

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A nosy detective has no idea what he just stuck his nose into.
Chinatown
Legend has it that Faye Dunaway was getting annoyed with Jack Nicholson after several takes of a certain scene weren't going well, so she suggested that he really slap her. He did and felt really guilty about it, but the scene made it into the film, which was released in 1974.
The Sicilian Clan
Murder on the Orient Express
House Calls

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A wedding, a hunting trip, the Vietnam War, and an infamous game of Russian Roulette.
Manhattan
The Great Gatsby
The Deer Hunter
"The Deer Hunter" is infamous for its incredibly realistic scenes, leading Robert De Niro to say it was his most physically exhausting film. He actually performed all his stunts and in one scene, Christopher Walken (on the director's advice) spit in De Niro's face, almsot causing him to walk off the set.
Mean Streets

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A rookie criminal decides to rob a bank and it turns into one of those hot, August days.
The French Connection
1941
Murder by Death
Dog Day Afternoon
"Dog Day Afternoon" was based on a real robbery where the robbers got away with $213,000. One of the robbers watched "The Godfather" the day he robbed the Chase Manhattan Bank. The stars of the movie, Al Pacino and John Cazale, both starred in "The Godfather."

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A couple of college freshmen get rejected from a high-brow frat and find themselves in a frat with members "Wormer" and "Otter."
Animal House
"Animal House" was released in 1978 and is known for John Belushi's many improvised scenes. The movie was controversial at the time and Donald Sutherland was so sure it would flop, he decided to take a flat fee of $75,000 instead of a gross percentage, which would have amounted to about $4 million.
Love Story
Cabaret
My Friends

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The story of "Deepthroat," a balcony plant and the legendary reporters who brought down a president.
The Way We Were
Thieves Like Us
All the President's Men
The identity of Deepthroat wasn't revealed until 2005, when Mark Felt publicly acknowledged his role in the scandal and Bob Woodward confirmed it. Anyone who has seen the film is probably surprised that it's rated PG, but it was originally rated R because its casual (10X) use of the F-word. It was re-rated PG because of its historical significance.
Save the Tiger

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A shy, sheltered, bullied teen goes to prom and unleashes her superpowers.
Shampoo
Carrie
"Carrie," which was released in 1976, was a first for a couple of people. It was John Travolta's first role in a feature film and it was the first Stephen King book to be made into a movie. King was paid just $2,500 for the movie rights, but he didn't care and said it was an honor to just get a book made into a movie.
Foxy Brown
Plaza Suite

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Tony lives at home, works at the paint store and loves the weekend disco.
The Out of Towners
Grease
Cry Uncle
Saturday Night Fever
After "Carrie" (1976), John Travolta's career took off, and "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) was his second feature film and the first film where he had a starring role. He ran two miles every day and danced for three hours a day to get ready for the role.

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King Arthur and his knights have to get past the Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a killer rabbit and a house of virgins in search for the Holy Grail.
King Kong
Magnum Force
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Members of the rock band Pink Floyd were such fans of the Monty Python TV show that they pledged funds from their album "The Dark Side of the Moon" to help fund "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," which was released in 1975.
Escape to Athena

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The blocks of Little Italy aren't too nice when a low-level hoodlum falls in debt with a loan shark.
Mean Streets
"Mean Streets," which was released in 1973, was the first time Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro collaborated. The duo has gone on to collaborate on several gangster flicks since then, and in 2019 "The Irishman" directed by Scorsese and starring De Niro is set to release.
Too Many Chefs
Duel
Escape to Athena

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The first black sheriff and a drunk gunslinger have to protect the town from a group of thugs.
Double Murder
The Candidate
Watch Out, We're Mad
Blazing Saddles
Mel Brooks wrote, directed and starred in this film where a corrupt politician appoints a black sheriff in an attempt to ruin the town. Brooks approached the king of Westerns, John Wayne, about appearing in the movie, but Wayne said it was too dirty and turned him down.

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The true story of a remarkably good cop who refuses to go bad.
Dirty Harry
Serpico
Frank Serpico was a real New York cop and whistle-blower who was sick of the rampant corruption in the force. He is still alive today, and after moving to Switzerland, he decided to move back to the States and lives somewhere in upstate New York. Al Pacino considers this film to be his greatest achievement as an actor.
New York, New York
Magnum Force

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A San Francisco cop and his .44 Magnum patrol the streets looking for a sadistic killer.
The Conversation
Dirty Harry
The famous quote uttered by Clint Eastwood - "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" - is considered one of the top 100 greatest movie quotes of all time, according to the American Film Institute.
The Cat o' Nine Tails
Live and Let Die

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An exchange student and a greaser have a high school fling during a 1950s summer.
Lenny
Don't Touch the White Woman!
Alfredo, Alfredo
Grease
"Grease" was the highest-grossing movie of 1978 and was only John Travolta's third major film (it was his fourth movie but one was a TV film) after "Carrie" and "Saturday Night Fever," cementing his place in Hollywood. Studio execs bought the film hoping that Elvis would play the lead role.

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Biographical look at one America's most controversial generals during WWII.
California Suite
Patton
Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed this film that was released in 1970. The actor who played Patton, George C. Scott, wore Patton's real revolvers in the opening scene of the movie. Scott went on to win the Oscar but refused to accept it because he didn't believe he was in competition with other actors. He had also refused his 1962 nomination for "The Hustler."
The Spy Who Loved Me
Apocalypse Now

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The (fortunately) fictional story of Leatherface and his chainsaw of revenge.
...and justice for all.
The Getaway
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
One of the characters who was chased by Leatherface cut herself on some branches so the blood in that scene is mostly real, but despite that, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is one of the least-bloody horror films of all time. The director was hoping for a PG rating so he shot the film in a way that implied the horror was happening off-screen. This backfired and made the film even more terrifying.
The Anderson Tapes

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A TV anchorman is mad as hell and he's not gonna take it anymore!
Two Men in Town
Network
The screenplay for "Network" is considered one of the best screenplays ever and earned the Oscar for the category. It also earned Faye Dunaway her first Oscar. Peter Finch, who played the lead role, died before the Oscars, but he won and became the first person to win an Oscar posthumously. Beatrice Straight appeared on screen for just five minutes but won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The film lost to "Rocky" for Best Picture. Director Sidney Lumet was publicly furious about that.
The Fortune
The Panic in Needle Park

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A small-time boxer from Philly trains in a meat locker leading up to his fight against the world heavyweight champion.
Rocky
"Rocky" was the highest-grossing movie of 1976 and it went on to win three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Sylvester Stallone had to quit smoking during filming of the movie because he kept running out of breath. He was nominated for a Best Acting Oscar but didn't win.
The Fortune
Cuba
The Fighter

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A neighborhood man gets so close to a UFO he gets sunburn from its bright lights and dedicates his life to understanding what just happened.
Amarcord
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Fresh off the success of "Jaws," Stephen Spielberg wrote and directed "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which was released in 1977. He later stated that editing the final 35 minutes of the film was the hardest thing he'd ever done. "Fahrenheit 451" author Ray Bradbury called the film the best sci-fi movie ever.
The Fortune
The Godfather

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A wife, her husband, and their children move to a perfect neighborhood full of perfect wives.
Rosemary's Baby
The Exorcist
Star Wars
The Stepford Wives
Legend has it that Diane Keaton turned down the lead role the night before signing her contract because her analyst got bad vibes from the script. Keaton had appeared in five movies before that point, and two of them were the Godfather films.

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A boy teams up with a Jedi Knight, a Wookiee and two droids to rescue his sister from his father.
Star Wars: A New Hope
Writer and director George Lucas thought "Star Wars" would flop so badly that instead of attending the premiere he went on vacation with Stephen Spielberg to brainstorm movie ideas. They came up with "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," which was released in 1981.
Two Men in Town
King Kong
The Out of Towners

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