# Films with somewhat misleading titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198 "2016-05-20T00:38:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/81 "2016-05-21T17:31:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Again, I think you’re missing the point. Nearly all the titles mentioned make sense _after_ you’ve seen the movie, or even if you know something about it in advance. Both examples mentioned in the OP make sense once you’ve seen the film. But some titles are particularly enigmatic if you don’t know anything in advance. Those are the ones we’re interested in here. Um, I _pointed out_ how _Blade Runner_ _does_ fit as being misleading, even after seeing the film. Nothing in the film explains the source or underlying meaning of the term. Only that that is what certain cops are called. Hardly helpful. _Ghost World_ has the property that nowhere in the script is the word “ghost” mentioned. “World” is used several times, but only in a mundane (;)) sense. The phrase is a metaphor for Enid’s view of her life, but there’s no explicit discussion in the movie with her talking about this particular aspect. So you have to deduce after seeing the movie what the title might mean. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/82 "2016-05-21T17:33:30Z")
Most misleading title ever has to be William Friedkin’s follow-up film to **The Exorcist**. **Sorceror** , 1977. It had nothing to do with sorcery or the supernatural but was a remake of **The Wages of Fear** about truckers transporting a load of nitroglycerine over mountainous roads. (Good movie although not a patch on Clouzot’s original.) I always wondered whether the title was forced on him by the studio, anxious to draw big crowds expecting another horror classic. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/83 "2016-05-21T19:08:04Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Um, I _pointed out_ how _Blade Runner_ _does_ fit as being misleading, even after seeing the film. Nothing in the film explains the source or underlying meaning of the term. Only that that is what certain cops are called. Hardly helpful. Other movies mentioned here have even less explanation of their title, such as “Sorcerer”. > [@](#): > > _Ghost World_ has the property that nowhere in the script is the word “ghost” mentioned. “World” is used several times, but only in a mundane (;)) sense. The phrase is a metaphor for Enid’s view of her life, but there’s no explicit discussion in the movie with her talking about this particular aspect. So you have to deduce after seeing the movie what the title might mean. Other movie titles mentioned here are just as metaphorical. Your supposed distinctions don’t hold up to any scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/84 "2016-05-21T19:26:06Z")
The Hateful 8. there’s all sorts of combinations of people during the movie, there’s scenes with four people, with six people, with ten people- Except at no point there’s a scene with eight characters. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/85 "2016-05-21T19:35:29Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I wanted to see some titles at random, and since _A Clockwork Orange_ was mentioned, I went to Kubrick’s IMDb page. You objected to this title being included, but neither clockwork nor oranges is referenced in the movie. Likewise, the titles of _Reservoir Dogs_ and _Straw Dogs_ are metaphorical but not explicitly referenced in the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/86 "2016-05-21T19:37:39Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > The Hateful 8. > > there’s all sorts of combinations of people during the movie, there’s scenes with four people, with six people, with ten people- Except at no point there’s a scene with eight characters. Yeah, I noticed that. I kept trying to figure out who exactly the hateful ones were. Apparently, the stage driver wasn’t considered to be hateful. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/87 "2016-05-21T19:42:44Z")
Oh man, how could I have forgotten my favorite film, “The Lion in Winter.” No large feline shivering in evidence. There IS a pineapple though, oddly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/88 "2016-05-21T22:01:52Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > Oh man, how could I have forgotten my favorite film, “The Lion in Winter.” No large feline shivering in evidence. There IS a pineapple though, oddly enough. There are also few big cats in evidence in _The Young Lions_, _The Leopard_, _Save the Tiger_, or _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_. ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/89 "2016-05-21T23:51:08Z")
I remembered another one - “Lord of the Flies”. The title alone gives me a very different expectation to what the film/book is about. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/90 "2016-05-22T02:33:36Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > Oh man, how could I have forgotten my favorite film, “The Lion in Winter.” No large feline shivering in evidence. Did you think there would be? Even without knowing a thing about the subject, both halves of the metaphor are pretty plain. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/91 "2016-05-22T06:18:56Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Did you think there would be? > > Even without knowing a thing about the subject, both halves of the metaphor are pretty plain. Only if you’ve seen the film. Again, you’re missing the point of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/92 "2016-05-22T06:19:02Z")
A whole separate, but very related, category for book / movie titles would be: Titles that, while not being actually misleading, simply contain _no clue whatsoever_ as to what the story is. The most common type of this would be a title that is simply the name of the main character. For example, the book _Silas Marner_. (The movie too, I guess.) The title is simply the name of the main character, and tells us absolutely nothing one way or another about what the story is. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/93 "2016-05-22T06:36:25Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > For example, the book _Silas Marner_. (The movie too, I guess.) The title is simply the name of the main character, and tells us absolutely nothing one way or another about what the story is. At least if you know the book you might know what the movie was about. I wouldn’t count _Great Expectations_, _Oliver Twist_, or _Moby Dick_ as misleading titles. On occasion, however, biopic titles can be a bit misleading. While _Gandhi_ basically wa about his whole career, _Lincoln_ was mostly about the ratification of the 13th Amendment rather than a full biopic. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/94 "2016-05-22T10:07:54Z")
Some of the recent films produced by JJ Abrams (such as _Cloverfield_, _Super 8_ and _10 Cloverfield Lane_) are titled and marketed so as to preserve some element of surprise. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/95 "2016-05-22T12:44:54Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Most misleading title ever has to be William Friedkin’s follow-up film to **The Exorcist**. > > **Sorceror** , 1977. > > It had nothing to do with sorcery or the supernatural but was a remake of **The Wages of Fear** about truckers transporting a load of nitroglycerine over mountainous roads. (Good movie although not a patch on Clouzot’s original.) > > I always wondered whether the title was forced on him by the studio, anxious to draw big crowds expecting another horror classic. Do tell. ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/96 "2016-05-23T02:44:04Z")
For a movie titled **Ran** , I didn’t expect so much sitting around talking. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/97 "2016-05-23T12:02:23Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > For a movie titled **Ran** , I didn’t expect so much sitting around talking. Note the tense. You’ll see lots of running when they come out with the prequel. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/98 "2016-05-23T14:19:13Z")
I just saw **The Nice Guys.** Turns out, they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/99 "2016-05-27T00:46:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Naked Lunch. It’s just not. > [@jz78817](#): > > “I can think of two things wrong with that title.” > > - Nelson HAW HAW > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > 12 Monkeys is about an organization called 12 Monkeys, Not really, in the movie it’s a red herring. Though in the TV show it’s something more. Batman v Superman is not about a lawsuit or legal proceeding between Batman and Superman, which is the only instance when it’s acceptable to use that abominable v abbreviation rather than the much more cromulant vs. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198/100 "2016-05-27T02:26:02Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I just saw **The Nice Guys.** > > Turns out, they’re not. Neither are _Goodfellas_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-with-somewhat-misleading-titles/755198.md?page=6)