# Great movies that need better titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751 "2020-04-28T17:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/61 "2020-04-30T12:29:05Z")
Roger Ebert thought that “It Could Happen to You” would have been much better had they kept the working title, “Cop Gives Waitress $2 Million Tip”. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/62 "2020-04-30T12:42:56Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > No, you’re being whooshed for not spotting that \*\*Tripolar \*\*was joking. > > And it’s a chestnut on this forum in threads of this type. I get jokes. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/63 "2020-04-30T15:45:11Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > “Edge of Tomorrow” is probably the poster child for bad titles. It sounds like a cross-over between “Edge of Night” and “Search for Tomorrow”. The book it’s based on is called _All You Need Is Kill_ (translated from Japanese). Why anyone would choose to NOT use that title is beyond my ability to comprehend. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/64 "2020-04-30T15:48:45Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I hear it’s a good movie, but I’ve never watched it because the title is so bad. > > _Being John Malkovich_ The only reason I watched it the first time was because I found the title to be interesting. After watching it I found the title to be the most concisely descriptive title in movie history…and it is a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![1958Fury](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/1958fury/32/210_2.png) [@1958Fury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1958Fury)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/65 "2020-04-30T16:38:05Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_. IMO, the worst Harry Potter movie title is Half-Blood Prince. I don’t remember how prominent it was in the book, but in the movie, the Half-Blood Prince subplot seemed kind of subdued. To the point that Snape’s revelation at the end was almost nonsensical. I don’t have a better title in mind, but learning about Horcruxes seems like a big enough plot point to get a title mention. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/66 "2020-04-30T19:59:06Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > The book it’s based on is called _All You Need Is Kill_ (translated from Japanese). > > Why anyone would choose to NOT use that title is beyond my ability to comprehend. I felt this way about _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ It’s one of my favorite book titles of all time, but _Blade Runner_ made it sound like one of a few hundred generic action pics. Of course, the movie essentially cut out two of the book’s three themes. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/67 "2020-05-01T04:15:10Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > **The Hudsucker Proxy** is my favorite Coen Bros. film. But I’m sure the title has put some folks off. I probably would have never watched it based on the title alone. I’m not sure what a better title would be; I mean, it’s 100% accurate. Just not something you’d pick off the video shelf back in the day. > [@Colibri](#): > > The Coen Brothers are big on enigmatic titles that don’t give much of a clue as to what the movie is about. _Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink,_ etc. But yeah, that one’s probably the worst. Something like _The Hoop_ might have given a better hook to the plot. They could have just called it _You Know, For Kids._ ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/68 "2020-05-01T04:36:17Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > **Shawshank Redemption** - too hokey. Andy was innocent of the charges, so he didn’t need redemption. I suppose Shawshank Penitentiary is a real place, but the word “Shawshank” is meaningless outside of the state of Maine, and doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. You do know that the title is actually a shorter version of the original Stephen King title? It was _Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption_ And of course that referred to the series of posters? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/69 "2020-05-01T06:28:17Z")
_The Conversation_ is a great suspense movie, but the title makes it sound like it’s about people sitting around talking to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/70 "2020-05-01T07:22:33Z")
For the inverse, bad movies with great titles, I have to nominate _Snakes On a Plane_. ---
**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 1, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/71 "2020-05-01T12:14:16Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I felt this way about _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ It’s one of my favorite book titles of all time, but _Blade Runner_ made it sound like one of a few hundred generic action pics. Of course, the movie essentially cut out two of the book’s three themes. Complex story behind that. _The Bladerunner_ was a medical science fiction novel by Alan E. Nourse (Who’s a physician, but who usually wrote Space Operas). It’s a great little novel, with a scarily plausible speculation about the future of medicine. The titular “bladerunner” was a supplier of black market medical supplies (like scalpels). William S. Burroughs wrote a screenplay based on Nourse’s book in 1979 and published it under the title “Bladerunner: a Movie”. The guys working on the screenplay for Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Dick’s book knew they couldn’t go with _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_, and were trying out other possibilities when the stumbled across Burroughs’ book and liked the title. Since I’m a compulsive end-title reader (and had been since long before they started putting obvious “Easter Eggs” and afterscenes in them) I noticed the “special thanks to Alan E. Nourse and William S. Burroughs” credit line buried among the closing credits. Nourse’s book I knew about, but I’d never sen Burroughs’. I figured he must have also written a book with that title, not knowing it was an adaptation of Nourse’s. It was pretty much a given they’d use a different title for the movie than for Dick’s book. They chose a catchy one. There are lots of other cases when the adaptation of a science fiction novel or story gets a newer catchier title, although sometimes I think the original is better. I certainly prefer Robert Shoeckley’s _Immortality Delivered_\* to the movie title **Freejack**. It didn’t help that the movie was awful. \*Also _Immortality, Inc._, which I don’t think is as good. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/72 "2020-05-01T12:20:10Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I felt this way about _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ It’s one of my favorite book titles of all time, but _Blade Runner_ made it sound like one of a few hundred generic action pics. Of course, the movie essentially cut out two of the book’s three themes. _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_ is another excellent title that inspired me to read the book (or watch the movie, etc.). It wasn’t until I was about 15% through that I made the Blade Runner connection… ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/73 "2020-05-01T12:37:20Z")
Since this thread is starting wane I’ll throw out _Hot Tub Time Machine_ as movie that is much MUCH better than it has any right to be based on it’s title. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/74 "2020-05-01T12:41:08Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > The book it’s based on is called _All You Need Is Kill_ (translated from Japanese). Just nitpicking, but the title was not translated from Japanese. It was in transliterated (broken) English from the start - オール・ユー・ニード・イズ・キル. Transliterating that, rather than reversing the transliteration does make that less than obvious though - Ooru Yuu Niido Izu Kiru needs to be read aloud to even approach figuring it out. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/75 "2020-05-01T19:16:34Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Lots of movies have terrible titles, but this thread is specifically about really good movies which have terrible titles. So, for example, _The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies_ is a terrible title, but it’s also a terrible movie, so it doesn’t belong in this thread. Your job is to nominate a great movie with a terrible title, **and** propose a better title. > > My nomination is _It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World_. Indisputably a great movie, but a title that requires you to mentally count to four while saying it is a loser. It’s also a bland, generic title that could be applied to almost any goofy comedy. Here’s what it should have been called: _The Big W_. It’s an intriguing title that draws you in and makes you wonder what it means. The term is introduced in first 5 minutes of the movie, and since the whole movie is about the quest for the Big W, it’s totally appropriate. > > What other great movie needs a better title? I vote for I Heart Huckabees. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/76 "2020-05-01T21:34:13Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > …for example, _The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies_ is a terrible title … Am I the only one who thinks this is a really great title? It’s certainly memorable. I’m sure there are many bad monster movies I’ve never heard of because their titles were a lot blander than this. I’m sure it’s a bad film, but I doubt it’s genuinely the worst ever. I expect there are worse films, but you’ve never heard of them. This one stands out from the crowd because of the title. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/77 "2020-05-01T23:15:15Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks this is a really great title? You are not. It’s ridiculous, but that’s a good thing for the kind of b-movie schlock it never really tried not to be. Granted, the title is basically all the movie has going for it, but it’s a great title. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/78 "2020-05-02T01:09:16Z")
_Romancing the Stone_. Great movie. Stupid title. I would have called it “El Corazon” or “The Green Diamond” or something like that. I think any title that is just a person’s name is a bad title. Unless it is some sort of exotic name that carries connotations and mystery. But just a name like “John Carter,” that doesn’t mean anything except to people who are already fans, is really a waste of a good marketing opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/79 "2020-05-02T03:09:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I hear it’s a good movie, but I’ve never watched it because the title is so bad. > > _Being John Malkovich_ I’ve seen it. That’s what it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/80 "2020-05-02T05:11:25Z")
_Office Space_ Such a great movie. Such a meh title. They misfired with the marketing too. Bland bland bland. No wonder it flopped at the box office. Though it does amuse me to think of a milquetoast type walking in expecting a lighthearted office comedy with that nice Jennifer Aniston and discovering something quite a bit darker. (But I think even that person would have appreciated the cathartic demise of the printer) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751.md?page=5)