# Movies you got the wrong idea about based only on their titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299 "2008-10-10T07:46:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/1 "2008-10-10T07:46:59Z")
Today, with instant world communication, this probably doesn’t happen, but once upon a time… I was siting today cleaning out my “junk closet.” Came upon old issues of “Starlog” magazine from about 77-82, roughly my teen and high school years. In those days I lived in a small town in southern KY, and such monthly mags were my only connection to the world of filmmaking. In an issue it is simply announced that Lucas and Spielberg were teaming for a movie called “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Nothing else, no plot hints at all. I definitely recall thinking it might be about a “space ark” version of Noah, and perhaps it crashed on some planet and the inhabitants actually “raided” it. Of course, I soon learned that it was about some archaeologist, the Ark of the covenant and Nazis. So, anybody else have some similar memory? Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/2 "2008-10-10T08:09:30Z")
Not a movie, but I remember when I heard that HBO was going to air a drama called _The Sopranos_. I thought it was going to be about opera singers. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/3 "2008-10-10T08:15:45Z")
I thought [Star Wars](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/) was a big-screen version of [Battle of the Network Stars](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321394/). ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/4 "2008-10-10T08:16:53Z")
I once hired \*Dark Star \*from the video shop (yes, it was that long ago), having confused it with the muppet thing _Dark Crystal_. I was delighted with my mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/5 "2008-10-10T08:17:53Z")
Good one and a good point you make. So, let’s expand the OP to include TV program titles, book titles, song titles, whatever, whose plots were vastly different than the title may have immediately lead one to believe. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/6 "2008-10-10T08:41:14Z")
\*\*The Spanish Prisoner \*\* I’d never heard of the con before, so I thought it would be a prison life or breakout movie in Spain. Not sure if that would have been worse than the Mamet movie… ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/7 "2008-10-10T08:41:51Z")
_The Secret Life of Bees_, I have learned from the Dope, is not a documentary along the lines of _March of the Penguins._ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/8 "2008-10-10T08:45:35Z")
I’m originally from Dawson Creek, BC. When I first saw “Dawson’s Creek” in the TV listings I assumed it was some crappy local show or farm report or something. Took me a while to figure out that it was a smidge more widely watched. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/9 "2008-10-10T08:49:56Z")
Way back when **The Kiss of the Spider Woman** was released on video, I was much disappointed that it had nothing to do with Spiderman. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/10 "2008-10-10T09:09:01Z")
_[The Last King of Scotland](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/)_ ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/11 "2008-10-10T09:11:14Z")
The classic one is Fight Club. Amongst the many reasons why some people hate it with a “one star” hatred and others love it with a “five star” passion, is that some people came in thinking it was more an action movie devoted to bare knuckled boxing, rather than an anti capitalistic satire on modern days cults… ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/12 "2008-10-10T10:50:20Z")
The video shop in my old neighborhood had **Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads** in the horror section. I think I realized their mistake about 30 seconds in when the words “A Spike Lee Joint” (yeah, he was doing that all the way back in his film school days) appeared on the screen. They put it in the right section after I told them. And I did initially think **28 Days Later** was a sequel to **28 Days**. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/13 "2008-10-10T12:30:52Z")
Of course when Sarah Palin was in NYC, she saw a film called THE BUSH DOCTRINE in Times Square. It was not about politics. (Yeah, I stole that from SNL two weeks ago! Sue me!) And of course, there’s ANACONDA.😃 ---
**Author:** ![baldercrap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@baldercrap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baldercrap)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/14 "2008-10-10T12:31:06Z")
[Naked Lunch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Lunch_(film)) [Nelson Muntz]I can think of at least two things wrong with that title[/Nelson Muntz] ---
**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:** [October 10, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/15 "2008-10-10T12:43:49Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > Way back when **The Kiss of the Spider Woman** was released on video, I was much disappointed that it had nothing to do with Spiderman. My father passed the following wisdom to me when i asked about this movie, he said “son, do no see this movie for it contains no womans, no spiders and no kisses” ---
**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:** [October 10, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/16 "2008-10-10T12:47:37Z")
**Sorceror** is a classic in this. It was _years_ after I saw the movie that I finally learned why they called it that. From the title (and the time it was released), you’d have thought it was about that Carlod Castaneda stuff. The fact that the trailer was filled with South American jungle scenery helped reinforce the idea that maybe it was about native American shamans, or something. **Visionquest** is another one that sounds like a shaman movie. Or maybe a Tolkienesque fantasy. Or even H.P. Lovecraft. But not a movie about high school wrestling. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/17 "2008-10-10T12:56:02Z")
I was tricked into seeing [this movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317198/) by an ex-gf. She called me and asked me to hurry into the city to see a showing of the movie “Edge of Reason”. What’s that movie? I hadn’t heard of it, what’s it about? Sounds interesting enough. Curses! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/18 "2008-10-10T13:16:25Z")
I originally thought “V for Vendetta” was going to be a boring mystery along the lines of “M for Murder” or “K for Killer” and whatnot. I didn’t watch it in theaters because I thought the name was so cheesy. Turned out to be a pretty good movie when my friend rented it several months later. ---
**Author:** ![ubergoober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ee7513/32.png) [@ubergoober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ubergoober)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/19 "2008-10-10T13:22:58Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I thought [Star Wars](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/) was a big-screen version of [Battle of the Network Stars](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321394/). I’m glad to know I wasn’t the only one. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299/20 "2008-10-10T13:26:55Z")
> [@maggenpye](#): > > I once hired \*Dark Star \*from the video shop (yes, it was that long ago), having confused it with the muppet thing _Dark Crystal_. > > I was delighted with my mistake. My hubby rented that for us when we were dating and I haven’t laughed so much at a sci-fi movie in a long time. “Time to feed the alien!!” And it had sneakers on too 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-got-the-wrong-idea-about-based-only-on-their-titles/467299.md?page=2)