# Renaming Classic Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2006, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaming-classic-movies/338726 "2006-01-06T10:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaming-classic-movies/338726/1 "2006-01-06T10:56:24Z")
Look at this list of movies: 1. The Godfather 2. The Shawshank Redemption 3. The Lord of the Rings 4. Schindler’s List 5. Casablanca 6. Star Wars 7. Pulp Fiction 8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 9. The Usual Suspects 10. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 11. The Silence of the Lambs 12. Sunset Blvd. 13. American Beauty 14. To Kill a Mockingbird 15. The Maltese Falcon Now tell me, with no knowledge of the movie, having neither seen it or read about it, could you tell what any of these movies are about. A Godfather? Some form of making good? A jeweller? Someone going shopping? A holiday, perhaps? Fueding movie stars? Books, birds, bunglers, bomb makers, sheep, streets, roses, birds and birds?? Well you get the picture. I am sure our teens aren’t interested in these movies simply because of the obtuse titles they have been given. Compare them to pithy, self explanatory titles such as: Dude, Where’s My Car? Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Meet The Fockers Wedding Crashers Now how easy is it to tell what they are about. Dude, where **is** his car? Two named individuals procure comestibles from a well known chain. Two aggrieved chaps exact revenge. A schoolboy, or worker perhaps, has a day off. Some people meet Fockers. And finally a group of indeterminate size attends a wedding to which they were not invited. It seems to me that renaming some of the old classics using this title=plot paradigm may increase their popularity. For instance: 1. Vito and Michael Strike Back 2. Andy: The Warden Slayer 3. Don’t Tell Sauron Frodo’s Got The Ring 4. 10 Things I Hate About Nazis 5. I Know What You Did In Paris 6. Gunfight At The OK Corral anyway you get the idea. I’m hoping that someone from a major studio spots this post and offers me a job in marketing. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaming-classic-movies/338726/2 "2006-01-07T11:59:31Z")
On TV tonight: _Wyatt and Billy Buy Drugs_. Name that movie. ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaming-classic-movies/338726/3 "2006-01-07T12:07:12Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > On TV tonight: _Wyatt and Billy Buy Drugs_. > > Name that movie. Easy Rider I’m trying to think of more. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaming-classic-movies/338726/4 "2006-01-07T19:12:19Z")
If you want dumbed-down-so-anyone-can-get-it titles for old movies, just see what they did (and sometimes still do) when they showed these movies in countries like Mexico. For instance, “Jaws” became “Tiburon”, which simply means “Shark”. I always found this practice insulting. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaming-classic-movies/338726/5 "2006-01-07T19:27:00Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > 1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” > [@](#): > > 1. The Usual Suspects “Don’t Tell Mom Kevin Spacey’s the Bad Guy” > [@](#): > > 1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb “The Fellowship of the Bomb” > [@](#): > > 1. The Silence of the Lambs “Leave it to Lecter” > [@](#): > > 1. The Maltese Falcon “Follow that Bird!”