# A Series of Unfortunate Titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176 "2007-07-26T01:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/21 "2007-07-26T20:12:15Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Heh…I always took the title to mean the destruction _wrought by_ Jared-Syn. Because, you know, there was some. 🙂 [/QUOTE] You know, I had honestly never considered that before. Huh. Perhaps I’ll watch the movie again to see if that interpretation holds up. On second thought, maybe I’ll just take your word for it. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/22 "2007-07-26T20:16:05Z")
\*\*A Clockwork Orange. \*\* One of my favorite films, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/23 "2007-07-26T23:32:17Z")
[QUOTE=Mouse\_Maven] [The Gods Hate Kansas](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/%7Ejimthing/monarch.html) Never read it, now I _must_ find it! [/QUOTE] Try Alibris; it worked for me. That’s one of the VERY few books I’ve bought purely for the title. Another is _They Came and Ate Us: Armageddon II-The B Movie_ by Robert Rankin. Wasn’t all that good, but it led me back to _Armageddon-The Musical_, to which it was a sequel, and that WAS good. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/24 "2007-07-26T23:59:41Z")
> [@](#): > > I have not read the Beryl Bainbridge novel of the same name on which this movie is based, but I would venture that no work of fiction or cinema that is about a man inadvertently sleeping with his own daughter ought to be titled the cutesy-pie “An Awfully Big Adventure.” [link](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgif=/e/a/1995/07/21/WEEKEND2547.dtl) Despite the title, and despite the fact it stars Hugh Grant, this is very much not a date movie, and I speak from experience. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/25 "2007-07-27T00:23:20Z")
**The Shawshank Redemption** was a pretty bad title for a movie, but it was a little better than the title of the original story: _Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption_. Not sure what else they could have called it, but no one knew what the movie was about unless they vaguely remembered reading the story. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/26 "2007-07-27T00:23:41Z")
[**Krakatoa, East of Java**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064555/). Krakatoa is west of Java. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/27 "2007-07-27T01:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] \*\*A Clockwork Orange. \*\* One of my favorite films, nonetheless. [/QUOTE] I don’t see why that would be unfortunate. It’s memorable, and – though it’s not explained in the movie – the book makes it clear what the title means. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/28 "2007-07-27T01:51:25Z")
_The Madness of a Seduced Woman_ - a cheesy beach-read kind of title for an excellent bleak mid-winter sort of book. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/29 "2007-07-27T02:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] [**Krakatoa, East of Java**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064555/). Krakatoa is west of Java. [/QUOTE] Krakatoa is also east of Java…it’s just much farther that way. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/30 "2007-07-27T02:11:10Z")
Although the game was recommended to me highly, I think the title was a big part of the reason it took me forever to get around to playing **Thief: The Dark Project**. What the hell kind of vague, inert descriptive phrase is “Dark Project?” Ahh, I see… it’s not just any ordinary project then! I made fun of this at the time: “No doubt the next game in the series will be something like **Thief 2: The Stolen Object**! Or **Thief 2: The Strange Event**!” As it turned out, the next one was called **Thief 2: The Metal Age**. Because they just couldn’t bring themselves to get any more specific than that. They didn’t have any particular metal in mind, like gold or iron. It’s just an Age of metals in general. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/31 "2007-07-27T03:03:25Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] As it turned out, the next one was called **Thief 2: The Metal Age**. Because they just couldn’t bring themselves to get any more specific than that. They didn’t have any particular metal in mind, like gold or iron. It’s just an Age of metals in general. [/QUOTE] Is there any way that title _could_ make sense? Was the first game, like, set in the Stone Age or something? 😕😛 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/32 "2007-07-27T03:04:33Z")
Bad Lieutenant. Bad, bad lieutenant! Only deskwork for you! ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/33 "2007-07-27T03:08:24Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Is there any way that title _could_ make sense? Was the first game, like, set in the Stone Age or something? 😕😛 [/QUOTE] It didn’t get any better with the third game, _Thief 3: Deadly Shadows._ They’re still the same old shadows that Garrett loves to hide in. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/34 "2007-07-27T07:17:13Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Bongo] … On second thought, maybe I’ll just take your word for it. [/QUOTE] Do yourself a favor and take his word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/35 "2007-07-27T08:51:57Z")
[QUOTE=koeeoaddi] _The Madness of a Seduced Woman_ - a cheesy beach-read kind of title for an excellent bleak mid-winter sort of book. [/QUOTE] I thought that title was perfect, and I really enjoyed the book. I treat everything as beach-reading though. My nomination for worst title: _I Was a Teenage Werewolf._ This would all be very well except the title character starts out narrating the movie, just as it sounds, but then dies before the ending. Whereas the title makes it sound like he grew out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/36 "2007-07-27T12:52:48Z")
[QUOTE=HelloKitty] **The Shawshank Redemption** was a pretty bad title for a movie, but it was a little better than the title of the original story: _Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption_. Not sure what else they could have called it, but no one knew what the movie was about unless they vaguely remembered reading the story. [/QUOTE] In the same vein **The Green Mile** ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/37 "2007-07-27T13:32:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Liberal > Midnight Cowboy - a lot of people at the time didn’t know that it meant “male prostitute”. [QUOTE=Kalhoun] I didn’t know that until this second. [/QUOTE] Me either – and I saw it on first run in a movie theater. (Dating tip: Not a good first-date movie.) ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/38 "2007-07-29T05:13:35Z")
The English Patient seeing as hes German. Miami Vice,I always thought that the vice squad dealt with tarts and porn and the drug squad with drugs. ---
**Author:** ![A.I.Wintermute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@A.I.Wintermute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.I.Wintermute)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2007, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/39 "2007-07-29T08:03:51Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] The English Patient seeing as hes German. [/QUOTE] Disclaimer: I haven’t seen the movie. But I just finished the book recently, and in the book it’s a significant plot point that the other characters spend a large portion of the story believing him to be English. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176/40 "2007-07-29T18:57:56Z")
[QUOTE=drewbert] I have not read the Beryl Bainbridge novel of the same name on which this movie is based, but I would venture that no work of fiction or cinema that is about a man inadvertently sleeping with his own daughter ought to be titled the cutesy-pie “An Awfully Big Adventure.” [/QUOTE] I suppose “Voyager” (or [_Homo Faber_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0102050/)) might have been better. **Leonard Part 6** had problems with more than just the title, but the title was pretty confusing. **The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing** was famously mistranslated, but even in English you might not know what it’s about (an American Indian girl by that name). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-series-of-unfortunate-titles/413176.md?page=3)