# Movie titles that are spoilers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450 "2012-12-29T02:13:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/21 "2012-12-29T18:06:17Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > A lot of these suggestions (Search for Spock, Mr. Mom, etc.) describe the \*premise \*of the film, not the \*resolution \*of the film. So I don’t think they count as spoilers. They don’t tell you any more than a decent preview or TV commercial would tell you. I agree. The OP isn’t asking for titles that describe some element of the movie. That would be all of them. He’s asking for movies whose titles give away the resolution or some other supposedly unanswered plot question. (I think the OP’s second example is a fail, too.) How about _Death of a Salesman_? (It was a 1951 film.) ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/22 "2012-12-29T19:02:15Z")
Saving Private Ryan? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/23 "2012-12-29T19:16:34Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I haven’t seen it or read the book yet, but I have worked out at least one thing about [John Dies at the End](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1783732/) I saw the movie last night. Not a great movie, but fun in an 80s B-movie kinda way. I don’t know about the book, but Johh… …is alive at the end. He was dead at the beginning, though…I think. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/24 "2012-12-29T19:49:48Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > A lot of these suggestions (Search for Spock, Mr. Mom, etc.) describe the \*premise \*of the film, not the \*resolution \*of the film. So I don’t think they count as spoilers. They don’t tell you any more than a decent preview or TV commercial would tell you. Now, “Wrath of Khan” - I’ll grant you - not very spoilerish other than the fact that it reveals the villian AND you know he’s going to get some serious Wrath going. “The Search for Spock” was directly after his death due to the ‘Wrath’ of Khan - unless he was coming back, wasn’t a whole hell of a lot to go searching for, now was it? THe “Voyage Home” was directly after the events of ‘Search’ - where at the end they were essentially fugitives - tells you they are going home - one way or the other - lessens the mystery at the least and pre-supposes a successful voyage. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/25 "2013-01-13T15:55:00Z")
“Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat” (1896, the Lumiere brothers) was probably the first title to fit this category. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/26 "2013-01-13T16:59:04Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > How about _Death of a Salesman_? (It was a 1951 film.) An often-told “artistic integrity” story is that financial backers knew that the word “death” in a title turned away audiences, and wanted to call the play _Free and Clear_. But Arthur Miller stood firm. I think _Free and Clear_ is about 10,000 times better a title, myself! ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/27 "2013-01-13T17:04:20Z")
Am I really the first person to mention Snakes on a Plane? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/28 "2013-01-14T07:07:46Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Am I really the first person to mention Snakes on a Plane? At one point it was going to be renamed to something less obvious (Pacific Air 121 IIRC) but Samuel L. Jackson demanded they change the title back. Regarding “The Search for Spock” I think the title presupposes a happy ending. It wouldn’t be logical for Kirk and Co. to fly around in space for two hours and at the end turn to the screen, shrug and say “Guess we can’t find him!” ---
**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:** [January 14, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/29 "2013-01-14T12:39:18Z")
It’s not the title, but Dumbo is referred to as “The Flying Elephant”, but that’s actually not until the climax of the film. In fact, you can see that the way the film was constructed, this was actually supposed to be a surprise and revelation. I was tremendously disappointed when I first saw the film, because I thought there would be more about this elephant flying. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/30 "2013-01-14T12:46:43Z")
How about “Death of a Salesman”? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/31 "2013-01-14T15:11:00Z")
_Downfall_? I guess plenty of Americans know a little about Hitler, but probably don’t know the details of how the Third Reich came to an end. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/32 "2013-01-14T16:02:24Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I agree. The OP isn’t asking for titles that describe some element of the movie. That would be all of them. He’s asking for movies whose titles give away the resolution or some other supposedly unanswered plot question. (I think the OP’s second example is a fail, too.) You don’t think the title “Kill Bill” gives away that someone will kill Bill? ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/33 "2013-01-14T20:34:05Z")
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/34 "2013-01-14T20:58:59Z")
Return of the Jedi ---
**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:** [January 14, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/35 "2013-01-14T21:07:27Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay**. Since they escape at the very beginning of the film, it’s not exactly a spoiler. **Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle** would fit the OP better, but since the movie is about what happens en route its not really a spoiler either. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/36 "2013-01-14T22:15:19Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence_ - not only states the obvious fact that Liberty Valence ends up getting shot… > > …but also hints at the twist that “the man” who did it isn’t the one everyone thinks it is. I respectfully disagree. It certainly does state the obvious fact that Liberty gets shot, but throughout the movie, “the man who shot Liberty Valance” is used as high praise for Jimmy Stewart’s character, and there’s no suggestion that it’s ironic until the end of the film. … and a GREAT movie, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/37 "2013-01-14T22:23:56Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > You don’t think the title “Kill Bill” gives away that someone will kill Bill? Kill Bill, if it’s anything, is a command or a statement of intent. Bill gets killed is a plot revelation. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/38 "2013-01-14T22:27:27Z")
I know some people get annoyed at the translation of _Ladri di biciclette_ as _The Bicycle Thieves_, feeling that it creates a spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/39 "2013-01-14T22:29:53Z")
_“The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?”_ > [@](#): > > I know some people get annoyed at the translation of Ladri di biciclette as The Bicycle Thieves, feeling that it creates a spoiler. You mean the film universally known in English as “The Bicycle Thief”? Now THAT’S annoying… ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-that-are-spoilers/645450/40 "2013-01-15T16:04:59Z")
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