# Changing a movie's title for a foreign audience? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 20, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122 "2024-06-20T15:07:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/81 "2024-06-30T04:50:14Z")
The 2nd Mad Max movie starring Mel Gibson was titled “Mad Max II” but was released in the US as “The Road Warrior”. NFI why. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/82 "2024-06-30T04:54:00Z")
Not sure why this was done but in some territories **Zootopia** was renamed: [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/pv-target-images/013d3937593067eb54caf4960a79434349a3cf428244841e0a7f36234f90da68.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/pv-target-images/013d3937593067eb54caf4960a79434349a3cf428244841e0a7f36234f90da68.jpg) [![](https://prod-ripcut-delivery.disney-plus.net/v1/variant/disney/060848CF86C9638EF0767B9506EFE9436DCA8BCAF5530EB2F49811109A629931/) ](https://prod-ripcut-delivery.disney-plus.net/v1/variant/disney/060848CF86C9638EF0767B9506EFE9436DCA8BCAF5530EB2F49811109A629931/) [![](https://prod-ripcut-delivery.disney-plus.net/v1/variant/disney/8A1CC48AC33FA2975B4879F9395702754C4D9E19ED32A21B91280DF85341D562/) ](https://prod-ripcut-delivery.disney-plus.net/v1/variant/disney/8A1CC48AC33FA2975B4879F9395702754C4D9E19ED32A21B91280DF85341D562/) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/83 "2024-07-01T16:42:23Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Lots of Agatha Christie’s books had their titles changed when they were released in America. _Lord Edgware Dies_ became _Thirteen at Dinner_. _4:50 from Paddington_ became _What Mrs. MacGillicuddy Saw!_. _Death in the Clouds_ became _Death in the Air_. > > Even _Murder on the Orient Express_ was originally published in the U.S. as _Murder in the Calais Coach_, although that title change has been largely forgotten. Not to be forgotten is Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little N\*\*\*\*\*\*s”, which was retitled “Ten Little Indians”, and retitled again to “And Then There Were None”. (Abe Books has a number of the originals on sale, but you will pay $150 and up). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/84 "2024-07-01T16:54:46Z")
_Les Triplettes de Belleville_ was released under the literal translation _The Triplets of Belleville_ in English-speaking countries - except the UK and Ireland, where it was titled _Belleville Rendez-vous_. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/85 "2024-07-01T16:58:12Z")
Movie titles in Spanish seem to assume the audience is composed of idiots, no nuance or thought can be required to understand the title. In Latin-America they (used to, is no longer so common) add the words “en apuros” (“in trouble”) and/or “mad” to every title. In Spain they are even worse, famously renaming “Die Hard” (Latin-American name: “Duro de Matar” (Hard to kill)) to “Jungla de Cristal” (Crystal Jungle). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/86 "2024-07-01T17:09:55Z")
I’m going to watch some football now, but later I will chime in to talk about High Noon → Solo ante el peligro, North by Northwest → Con la muerte en los talones (ES) / Intriga internacional (Latin America), Once upon a time in the West → Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod, and similar things. They are many, some quite intriguing. Of course titles get changed, because producers are weird and distributers are crazy. And sometimes because they simply don’t understand the original title. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/87 "2024-07-01T20:51:49Z")
“Solo ante el peligro” would be “Alone before danger” or “facing danger alone”. Not great, but not bad. “Con la muerte en los talones” . . . . “With death in its claws”, maybe? What does “Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod” mean? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/88 "2024-07-01T20:54:47Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > In Latin America it was released as “What Happened Yesterday” (Que’ paso’ ayer?) Which is strange because there are plenty of perfectly good words for Hangover. Which are very likely all different in every country, so I can see why they did this. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/89 "2024-07-01T20:59:16Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > What does “Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod” mean? See this post: > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Once Upon A Time In The West - Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod (Play the song of death to me) ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/90 "2024-07-02T05:47:14Z")
I remember during a trip to England years ago that the movie _Gross Anatomy_, a middling medical school comedy starring Matthew Modine, had been retitled _A Cut Above_. I found it strange. Do medical schools in England call that class by another name? Did someone just decide they didn’t want the word “gross” in the title? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/91 "2024-07-02T06:46:30Z")
The Russian title of _ **American Beauty** _ was _ **Beauty, American Style** _, completely overlooking the ambiguity associated with the roses. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/92 "2024-07-02T07:32:22Z")
The French WW2 movie Indigenes was renamed Days of Glory here. Damn Yankees would have been renamed because they didn’t want the word Damn in a film title in England. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/93 "2024-07-02T07:51:39Z")
“We Sail in Harm’s Way” is the motto of the US Navy. The Russian translation for the John Wayne/Kirk Douglas war flick _ **In Harm’s Way** _ was _ **In the Manner of Mr Harm** _, further proof that Russian translators are some of the world’s worst. I had a good laugh over that one, just like I did when encountering “The Tretyakov Gallery is full of worthless paintings” and “Streetwalkers would gather under Skriyabin’s window to listen whenever he was playing his violin.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/94 "2024-07-02T13:11:42Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Damn Yankees would have been renamed because they didn’t want the word Damn in a film title in England. On the contrary, I think that the word “damn” is considered less offensive in the U.K. than in the U.S. One online paper I found says that it’s considered a very mild swearword. Why do you consider it to be more offensive in the U.K. than in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/95 "2024-07-02T14:25:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The James Bond movie _ **License Revoked** _ was retitled _ **License to Kill** _, allegedly because American audiences wouldn’t know what “revoked” means. Wikipedia notes “Originally titled _Licence Revoked_, the name was changed during post-production due to American test audiences associating the term with driver’s licence” [sic]. See also [here](https://old.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/comments/rbty6z/why_was_this_never_used/hocqp30/). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/96 "2024-07-02T15:07:55Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Damn Yankees would have been renamed because they didn’t want the word Damn in a film title in England. cite? There were at least three British film with “damn” in the title made in between the two versions of Damn Yankees! No problem for them. Village of the Damned [Children of the Damned](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056931/?ref_=sr_t_3) [The Damned](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056576/?ref_=sr_t_2) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/97 "2024-07-02T17:16:54Z")
The recent French shark movie on Netflix was retitled from _Sous la Seine_ to _Under Paris_, presumably due to the understandable concern that Americans don’t know what or where the Seine is. Of course, if you watch 3 seconds of preview it’s obvious the movie is based in Paris anyway. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/98 "2024-07-03T00:25:33Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The Russian title of _ **American Beauty** _ was _ **Beauty, American Style** _, completely overlooking the ambiguity associated with the roses. Do they even _have_ American Beauty roses in Russia? Or did they rename them “Glorious Blossoms of Holy Mother Russia and her Natural Beauty?” ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/99 "2024-07-03T04:02:15Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > In Sweden, **The Producers** was released under the title **Det våras för Hitler** , or “Springtime for Hitler” (the title of the musical-within-the-film). They went on to release every subsequent Mel Brooks film with the same title format: **Springtime for the Sheriff** , **Springtime for Frankenstein** , etc…. It’s even better. (copied from Wiki) The title of the film for the Swedish release uses the translation of the name of the play within the story, _Springtime for Hitler_. As a result of its success, most of Mel Brooks’ subsequent films in Swedish were given similar titles, despite being otherwise unrelated: _[Springtime for Mother-In-Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Chairs_(1970_film))_, _[Springtime for the Sheriff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazing_Saddles)_, _[Springtime for Frankenstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Frankenstein)_, _[Springtime for the Silent Movies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Movie)_, _[Springtime for the Lunatics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Anxiety)_, _[Springtime for World History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_World,_Part_I)_, _[Springtime for Space](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceballs)_, and _[Springtime for the Slum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Stinks)_. The practice ended by the time _[Robin Hood: Men in Tights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood:_Men_in_Tights)_ was released, at Brooks’ request. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122/100 "2024-07-03T04:24:14Z")
I’m sure there are some Russians who know about American Beauty roses. Those who do probably wouldn’t try to translate the name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-a-movies-title-for-a-foreign-audience/1003122.md?page=6)