# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/81 "2020-05-02T05:54:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s an extremely memorable title as well, and has entered English as an idiomatic expression for the positives, negatives, and screwed-up features of any situation. You can hardly have a better title than that. Until recently I actually assumed that the title was a popular English idiomatic phrase that was taken as the title of the movie rather than the opposite. Personally, it doesn’t make any sense as a movie title without having previously been used as an idiomatic phrase. “The Tall, the Short, and the Obese”. “The Rich, the Poor, and the Wacky.” “The Smart, the Dumb, and the Giant”. If not for the fact that they obviously call out the title in question\*, are those at all reasonable titles for movies? I guess that format just has a certain something to it? A rhythm to the words combined with the contrasts that makes it seem cool? \*I noted that perhaps the syllable count was important in the coolness of the title, so I stuck with it. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/82 "2020-05-02T08:01:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Hah! I’d put it on my list for best movie titles, along with _The Good, the Bad and the Ugly_. Amen ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/83 "2020-05-02T08:29:37Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > 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? I am aware that the film is based on a Stephen King work, and I had looked up its full title. It doesn’t change my opinion that it’s not a good title for the film. So I’ll just apportion Stephen King part of the blame. (To be fair to King, an effective title for a short story may not work for a movie.) ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/84 "2020-05-02T08:31:25Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > For the inverse, bad movies with great titles, I have to nominate _Snakes On a Plane_. “Earth Girls are Easy”. One of my favorite titles ever. It’s a decent movie. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/85 "2020-05-02T12:38:22Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > > [@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. I’d have gone with _Live Die Repeat_, since (a) that’s a hell of a title in general, and (b) it’s perfect for a movie you won’t just call “oh, uh, Tom Cruise gets killed a lot. Like, think Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers? Yeah, so: that.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/86 "2020-05-02T17:46:12Z")
I disagree with people here as to several of these titles - no accounting for taste, of course. A good movie title should be memorable, reflective of the tone of the movie, and let you know at least a little of what it’s about. A title that’s a little quirky or cryptic, or even refers to something that’s not central to the film, can be effective, too. Two good movies (both royal-themed, as it happens) with IMHO blah and unrevealing titles are _The Queen_ (with Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II, dealing with the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales) and _The King_ (a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays about Prince Hal, first as a dissolute youth and then once he becomes the great warrior-king _Henry V_). For the first I would’ve gone with _Balmoral, After Diana_ or _H.M._; for the second I think _Prince Hal, Agincourt_ or _Uneasy Lies the Head_ would’ve been better titles. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/87 "2020-05-03T22:39:56Z")
You want Uninspiring movie title How about Rocky V? Almost as bad as Rocky IV, but worse was Rocky III The only good thing about that series of names were the jokes about Rocky LXVII, featuring two geriatric geezers in wheelchairs in a face-off for who can fall asleep the fastest. ======= Mind you, I’ve always held a private grammar-gripe against E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. What does that E.T. stand for, hmm? Extra Terrestrial! So the movie title is “Extra Terrestrial the Extra Terrestrial.” That’s like naming a movie “Napoleon’s Wars: The Wars of Napoleon” (which yes, was actually the title of an educational filmette shown in my high school.) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/88 "2020-05-04T15:07:08Z")
> [@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. Since I read your post a few days ago, it’s been hovering in the back of my mind. It occured to me that Andy is not the protagonist, it’s Red. Sure, the camera follows Andy’s exploits and he is much of the story but that story is what’s told during lunch (“those of us that remember him, speak of him often”). The breakout is only important in that it changes Red’s mind and prevents him from being institutionalized. Which is also why Brooks suicide was important to the story. If Andy was the protagonist the camera would stay on him througout his trip to Mexico and it would end with him seeing Red walk up to him while cleaning the boat. The ‘Redemption’ happens when Red talks to the parole board. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/89 "2020-05-04T19:22:01Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > There were four movies that came out in the late 1980s that are all good to excellent, but they have such bland, generic, and vaguely similar sounding titles that I have trouble remembering which title goes with which movie: > > _Stand by Me_ (1986) should have been called _The Body_ like the novella is was based on. There may have been other movies called The Body, and, besides, it makes it sound vaguely like an adult movie. > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > _Attack of the Clones_. Agreed. I know it was partly intended to sound like an old-school space opera, but the thing is, it wasn’t an old-school space opera, so it didn’t fit. Agreed with Green Bean about Office Space and Tim R. Mortiss about Romancing the Stone. Office Space is just bland, seems like a placeholder title they ended up keeping by accident. Maybe something like Oh God It’s Monday. No, that’s still crap, but better than Office Space. Romancing the Stone just didn’t really make sense. I think Kathleen Turner was meant to be the stone, or maybe Michael Douglas, but they weren’t stony at all. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/90 "2020-05-04T19:49:45Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Maybe something like Oh God It’s Monday. Sounds like it should be a George Burns movie. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/91 "2020-05-04T20:32:14Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Sounds like it should be a George Burns movie. I’ll take your word for it - never seen one. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/92 "2020-05-04T20:53:35Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’ll take your word for it - never seen one. > **[Oh, God! (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh,_God!_(film))** > > Oh, God! is a 1977 American comedy film starring George Burns and John Denver. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Avery Corman, the film was directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay written by Larry Gelbart. The story centers on unassuming supermarket manager Jerry Landers (Denver), who is chosen by God (Burns) to spread his message, despite skepticism of the media, religious authorities, and his own wife (Teri Garr). > The film inspired two sequels, Oh, God! Book II (1980) and Oh, Go... ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/93 "2020-05-04T21:10:58Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > “Earth Girls are Easy”. One of my favorite titles ever. It’s a decent movie. [Sex Kittens Go To College.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz9TXhs4Cjk) Awesome title, great trailer, but it’s even worse than you’d think a movie that has both Mamie Van Doren and Conway Twitty would be. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/94 "2020-05-04T23:18:29Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > No Country for Old Men > > Im not sure what would be better…maybe ‘Greed’ or ‘Vengeance’? What’s wrong with that title? It sums up the movie (and the book) perfectly. Aging small town lawman Tommy Lee Jones realizes he is just not cut out for the new wave of violence that the drug trade is bringing to his area. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/95 "2020-05-04T23:42:08Z")
_Johnny Tremain_ should have been called _Johnny Deformed_. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/96 "2020-05-05T03:40:16Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > What’s wrong with that title? It sums up the movie (and the book) perfectly. Aging small town lawman Tommy Lee Jones realizes he is just not cut out for the new wave of violence that the drug trade is bringing to his area. I am not sure that’s a good arch though. Old salty lawman discovers crime, follows trail successfully, discovered it’s too much violence and doesn’t understand it all. So, the story is he has gotten too old and now sucks at what he is expected to do in the new law enforcement arena. And worse, he doesn’t even ‘understand’ criminals now. ETA: a thread about title…I guess it’s a good title. Just a shitty plot. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/97 "2020-05-05T04:54:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly\*. What the hell does it even mean? It isn’t a particularly accurate description of the three leads. > > They could have chosen a title that fits the pattern of the first two. A Grave Full Of Dollars. A Coffin Full of Dollars. A Tomb Full Of Dollars. > [@digs](#): > > Yeah, to connect it to\* A Fistful of Dollars\* it could have been _A Fistful of Ugly!_ > or _The Good Cents, The Bad Pesos, And The Ugly Dollars…_ Except, of course, there’s the issue that there was no connection until [United Artists made it up after the fact](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollars_Trilogy). > [@](#): > > Although not Leone’s intention, the three films came to be considered a trilogy following the exploits of the same so-called “Man with No Name” (portrayed by Clint Eastwood, wearing the same clothes and acting with the same mannerisms). The “Man with No Name” concept was invented by the American distributor United Artists, looking for a strong angle to sell the films as a trilogy. Eastwood’s character does indeed have a name (albeit a nickname) and a different one in each film: “Joe”, “Manco” and “Blondie”, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/98 "2020-05-05T05:29:44Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I am not sure that’s a good arch though. Old salty lawman discovers crime, follows trail successfully, discovered it’s too much violence and doesn’t understand it all. > > So, the story is he has gotten too old and now sucks at what he is expected to do in the new law enforcement arena. And worse, he doesn’t even ‘understand’ criminals now. > > ETA: a thread about title…I guess it’s a good title. Just a shitty plot. Did you even see the movie? What a bizarre post. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/99 "2020-05-05T07:43:56Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > **Silence of the Lambs** - “Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?” The backstory of her childhood trauma is, IMHO, too silly to name the movie after. Totally agree here. They should have named it after the novel instead. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751/100 "2020-05-05T10:50:40Z")
I learnt from QI that the Italian title for _The Sound of Music_ translates as _All Together, Passionately_, which might have led to disappointment among some customers. (And apparently one South Korean cinema owner tried to get more customers in by shortening it - he had all the musical numbers cut out). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-movies-that-need-better-titles/852751.md?page=6)