Non-descriptive movie titles
February 7, 2008 8:07 AM Subscribe
Can you name other films, like Cloverfield, whose titles seem to have nothing to do with the movie itself?
Lots of Internet hype preceded the releases of Snakes on a Plane and Cloverfield. Snakes on a Plane's premise-describing title captured the imagination of the movie-going public- at least until it was released. Cloverfield's title, on the other hand, was so non-descriptive, that it made the movie all the more mysterious. Other movies have titles which, like Snakes on a Plane, perfectly encapsulate the entire film in only a few words (Voyage To The Center Of The Earth, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, Home Alone). There have been some sequels which retained the title of the famous original, even though the title no longer made sense:
Lots of Internet hype preceded the releases of Snakes on a Plane and Cloverfield. Snakes on a Plane's premise-describing title captured the imagination of the movie-going public- at least until it was released. Cloverfield's title, on the other hand, was so non-descriptive, that it made the movie all the more mysterious. Other movies have titles which, like Snakes on a Plane, perfectly encapsulate the entire film in only a few words (Voyage To The Center Of The Earth, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, Home Alone). There have been some sequels which retained the title of the famous original, even though the title no longer made sense:
- The Pink Panther is a stolen diamond which only appeared in the original 1963 movie and none of the sequels;
- The Thin Man was not star William Powell, but the murder victim in the original 1934 movie, but The Thin Man title was retained for the five sequels.
Off the top of my head (and the titles might have some meaning, just none that I can think of):
- Magnolia
- Half Nelson
posted by puritycontrol at 8:15 AM on February 7, 2008
- Magnolia
- Half Nelson
posted by puritycontrol at 8:15 AM on February 7, 2008
The Beer Drinker's Guide to Fitness and Filmmaking comes to mind.
posted by leapfrog at 8:23 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by leapfrog at 8:23 AM on February 7, 2008
Clockwork Orange
posted by Pastabagel at 8:25 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Pastabagel at 8:25 AM on February 7, 2008
American Graffiti.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:26 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by infinitewindow at 8:26 AM on February 7, 2008
The Pink Panther is a stolen diamond which only appeared in the original 1963 movie and none of the sequels;
Return of the Pink Panther (1975) features the diamond as a key plot element.
posted by biffa at 8:27 AM on February 7, 2008
Return of the Pink Panther (1975) features the diamond as a key plot element.
posted by biffa at 8:27 AM on February 7, 2008
Dog day afternoon: if I remember correctly, the story takes place on a very hot summer day, a dog day.
posted by bluefrog at 8:31 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by bluefrog at 8:31 AM on February 7, 2008
Primal Fear.
posted by futility closet at 8:32 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by futility closet at 8:32 AM on February 7, 2008
Eraserhead (?)
posted by Mister_A
Don't people's heads end up being mushed into erasers at the end?
posted by Grither at 8:33 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Mister_A
Don't people's heads end up being mushed into erasers at the end?
posted by Grither at 8:33 AM on February 7, 2008
Laughterhouse, re-released as Singleton's Pluck because the original title made no sense whatever.
posted by Phanx at 8:37 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Phanx at 8:37 AM on February 7, 2008
Naked in New York.
Funny thing is, many of the titles suggested here really do have something to do with the movie, it's just not obvious.
posted by adamrice at 8:38 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Funny thing is, many of the titles suggested here really do have something to do with the movie, it's just not obvious.
posted by adamrice at 8:38 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Kalifornia
posted by AJaffe at 11:36 AM on February 7
Isn't the premise of that movie that Duchovny and Michelle Forbes are moving to California?
posted by Pastabagel at 8:45 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by AJaffe at 11:36 AM on February 7
Isn't the premise of that movie that Duchovny and Michelle Forbes are moving to California?
posted by Pastabagel at 8:45 AM on February 7, 2008
Adamrice
"Funny thing is, many of the titles suggested here really do have something to do with the movie, it's just not obvious."
I was gonna say the same thing, but i'll be nice and play along:
Baraka
Koyaanisqatsi
Powaqqatsi
Naqoyqatsi
.
posted by jmnugent at 8:45 AM on February 7, 2008
"Funny thing is, many of the titles suggested here really do have something to do with the movie, it's just not obvious."
I was gonna say the same thing, but i'll be nice and play along:
Baraka
Koyaanisqatsi
Powaqqatsi
Naqoyqatsi
.
posted by jmnugent at 8:45 AM on February 7, 2008
Okay, technically at the end of Grand Canyon, all the characters go to the grand canyon, but that isn't mentioned earlier in the film, if I recall correctly. And Inland Empire, ot the best of my knowledge, has absolutely nothing to do with the Inland Empire (unless that's where it was shot, which the audience wouldn't know).
posted by Pastabagel at 8:47 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Pastabagel at 8:47 AM on February 7, 2008
Sideways
AFAIK the title wasn't [directly] referenced. Interpret it as you will, but it wasn't specifically taken from the film.
posted by sprocket87 at 8:58 AM on February 7, 2008
AFAIK the title wasn't [directly] referenced. Interpret it as you will, but it wasn't specifically taken from the film.
posted by sprocket87 at 8:58 AM on February 7, 2008
Grither: really? I don't remember there being an end to Eraserhead (I saw it like 2.5 decades ago...)
posted by Mister_A at 9:04 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Mister_A at 9:04 AM on February 7, 2008
Oldboy as a title doesn't have much/anything to do with the film.
posted by Nelsormensch at 9:07 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Nelsormensch at 9:07 AM on February 7, 2008
Don't people's heads end up being mushed into erasers at the end?
Not exactly, but there is a sequence (a dream or hallucination or visit to the spirit world that Henry originally came from) featuring a head being fed into a machine that makes it into erasers for the ends of pencils.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:12 AM on February 7, 2008
Not exactly, but there is a sequence (a dream or hallucination or visit to the spirit world that Henry originally came from) featuring a head being fed into a machine that makes it into erasers for the ends of pencils.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:12 AM on February 7, 2008
Naked Lunch
posted by box at 8:58 AM on February 7
I can think of at least two things wrong with that title.
posted by ssmug at 9:31 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by box at 8:58 AM on February 7
I can think of at least two things wrong with that title.
posted by ssmug at 9:31 AM on February 7, 2008
I don't think there's a dog in Un Chien Andalou never mind an Andalusian one...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:34 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:34 AM on February 7, 2008
D'oh!
posted by The Bellman at 9:34 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by The Bellman at 9:34 AM on February 7, 2008
Bellman... yeah, I did think it was pushing it...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:38 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:38 AM on February 7, 2008
Inland Empire
Going to have to disagree on that one, but I realize that may require a bit of Lynchian philosophizing.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:39 AM on February 7, 2008
Going to have to disagree on that one, but I realize that may require a bit of Lynchian philosophizing.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:39 AM on February 7, 2008
Bang the Drum Slowly
posted by worker_bee at 9:54 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by worker_bee at 9:54 AM on February 7, 2008
Eraserhead (?)
posted by Mister_A
Also not true, as "Eraserhead" is a scene in the movie. Literally.
posted by slimepuppy at 10:00 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Mister_A
Also not true, as "Eraserhead" is a scene in the movie. Literally.
posted by slimepuppy at 10:00 AM on February 7, 2008
My Own Private Idaho
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:00 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:00 AM on February 7, 2008
Naked Lunch (re: box) - As a kid with unsupervised access one night to Cinemax, I was highly disappointed about the true nature of this film.
Ok I'll come up with some of my own:
Matrix 2, and 3 :P
posted by samsara at 10:04 AM on February 7, 2008
Ok I'll come up with some of my own:
Matrix 2, and 3 :P
posted by samsara at 10:04 AM on February 7, 2008
"I am legend" is referenced at the end of the movie, something along the lines of "I created the cure so I am legend"
Which is actually a weak spin on the original from the book where the main character realizes that he has become the boogie man who haunts society, so he has "become legend"
posted by bitdamaged at 10:10 AM on February 7, 2008
Which is actually a weak spin on the original from the book where the main character realizes that he has become the boogie man who haunts society, so he has "become legend"
posted by bitdamaged at 10:10 AM on February 7, 2008
Raising Arizona doesn't make much sense before you see the movie.
posted by hilby at 10:15 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by hilby at 10:15 AM on February 7, 2008
Ghost World
posted by herbaliser at 10:21 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by herbaliser at 10:21 AM on February 7, 2008
Elephant? The title isn't directly related to the content of the film, but it is an alusion to the subject matter being the "elephant in the room".
posted by burnmp3s at 10:22 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by burnmp3s at 10:22 AM on February 7, 2008
The title of Elephant is pretty unrelated to the subject, at least if you confine yourself to the context of the movie itself. Once is very non-descriptive as well, although a brief song with that title plays at the very end of the closing credits.
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:23 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:23 AM on February 7, 2008
Well, at least one of mine was original.
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:24 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:24 AM on February 7, 2008
Cloverfield takes its name from the fictional code name of the incident that occurs in the movie. Most movies probably derive their title from a central event, character, location, or theme of the movie. So, I don't think Cloverfield is a notable exception. In the same category could be many other movies like Million Dollar Baby, Braveheart, or Seabiscuit. These titles do not directly reveal anything about the plot of the movie either.
posted by daser at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by daser at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2008
I thought the title of The Grand Canyon had to do with the grand canyons that exist between people.
Anyway, with the idea of something not obvious, I thought immediately of The Name of the Rose. The book ends with the line "Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus", and my Latin's not very good, so I thought maybe that line explains the name. Otherwise I don't get it.
posted by MtDewd at 10:36 AM on February 7, 2008
Anyway, with the idea of something not obvious, I thought immediately of The Name of the Rose. The book ends with the line "Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus", and my Latin's not very good, so I thought maybe that line explains the name. Otherwise I don't get it.
posted by MtDewd at 10:36 AM on February 7, 2008
I am Legend
Only because they changed/ruined the ending. The ending of the book is 100% tied to the title.
posted by jbickers at 10:37 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Only because they changed/ruined the ending. The ending of the book is 100% tied to the title.
posted by jbickers at 10:37 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Beaches, Brazil
Several scenes in the first film take place at a beach. And the song 'Brazil' features prominently in the second.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:38 AM on February 7, 2008
Several scenes in the first film take place at a beach. And the song 'Brazil' features prominently in the second.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:38 AM on February 7, 2008
If the question is about film whose title don't seem to relate to the the film, then Chariots of Fire. The hymn is sung in the film, but otherwise the title is not referenced, and it is a line from a Blake poem that references a legend about Jesus visiting Glastonbury. Pretty oblique.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:50 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:50 AM on February 7, 2008
Most of the Marx brothers movies (they deliberately chose nonsense names)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, tho it's a well-known story, has nothing to with cats and most of the dialogue is not from Maggie, the character known as the cat
Good Will Hunting doesn't make sense as a title, really, tho that's the main character's name
Pulp Fiction?
Steel Magnolias, sort of
Birth of a Nation covers much more than the country's birth
Singing in the Rain reveals nothing about its plot about transitioning to talkies
The Color Purple (if you haven't read the book)
Dr. Strangelove is not the main character
Five Easy Pieces?
The Grapes of Wrath (if you haven't ready the book)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (if you haven't...)
Some Like it Hot?
I dunno, I guess there's a fine line between being able to read into an obscure part of the movie to understand the title, or not...
posted by Melismata at 11:07 AM on February 7, 2008
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, tho it's a well-known story, has nothing to with cats and most of the dialogue is not from Maggie, the character known as the cat
Good Will Hunting doesn't make sense as a title, really, tho that's the main character's name
Pulp Fiction?
Steel Magnolias, sort of
Birth of a Nation covers much more than the country's birth
Singing in the Rain reveals nothing about its plot about transitioning to talkies
The Color Purple (if you haven't read the book)
Dr. Strangelove is not the main character
Five Easy Pieces?
The Grapes of Wrath (if you haven't ready the book)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (if you haven't...)
Some Like it Hot?
I dunno, I guess there's a fine line between being able to read into an obscure part of the movie to understand the title, or not...
posted by Melismata at 11:07 AM on February 7, 2008
Elephant is as in an Elephant never forgets.
Butterfield 8?
posted by A189Nut at 11:09 AM on February 7, 2008
Butterfield 8?
posted by A189Nut at 11:09 AM on February 7, 2008
I've read many times that Gus Van Sant named his film Elephant after being inspired by the style of Alan Clark's film, Elephant.
posted by popcassady at 11:14 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by popcassady at 11:14 AM on February 7, 2008
Oldboy as a title doesn't have much/anything to do with the film.
Uhh...it's a reference to the central relationship?
Except for the kinda-cheating Un Chien Andalou, most of these titles have something to do with the film. Unless we're looking for "examples of titles that are not blisteringly obvious summaries of the plot"-- which is a large category indeed.
posted by desuetude at 11:28 AM on February 7, 2008
Uhh...it's a reference to the central relationship?
Except for the kinda-cheating Un Chien Andalou, most of these titles have something to do with the film. Unless we're looking for "examples of titles that are not blisteringly obvious summaries of the plot"-- which is a large category indeed.
posted by desuetude at 11:28 AM on February 7, 2008
Even Trainspotting is questionable - the title recalls an incident that occurs on the book, but which they left out of the film. I wouldn't count it.
posted by goo at 11:44 AM on February 7, 2008
posted by goo at 11:44 AM on February 7, 2008
Response by poster: Wow daser, you missed the point I was trying to make!
Cloverfield takes its name from the fictional code name of the incident that occurs in the movie.
Yah, I am aware where the title comes from. Unless the screenwriter decided that the government picked the word "Cloverfield" as a code name because the camera was found in a park, then the code name is completely unrelated to the content of the film, just like all those Marx Brothers movies.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 11:48 AM on February 7, 2008
Cloverfield takes its name from the fictional code name of the incident that occurs in the movie.
Yah, I am aware where the title comes from. Unless the screenwriter decided that the government picked the word "Cloverfield" as a code name because the camera was found in a park, then the code name is completely unrelated to the content of the film, just like all those Marx Brothers movies.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 11:48 AM on February 7, 2008
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. "Dead men don't wear plaid...I still don't know what it means"
Regret to inform that there's a conversation between Kevin Kline and Danny Glover about the Grand Canyon both as a place and how it's a metaphor for the spaces between people.
Plus it should really be called Raising Huffheins, but then would you see a movie called Raising Huffheins?
posted by kirkaracha at 11:57 AM on February 7, 2008
technically at the end of Grand Canyon, all the characters go to the grand canyon, but that isn't mentioned earlier in the film, if I recall correctly
Regret to inform that there's a conversation between Kevin Kline and Danny Glover about the Grand Canyon both as a place and how it's a metaphor for the spaces between people.
Raising Arizona doesn't make much sense before you see the movie.
Plus it should really be called Raising Huffheins, but then would you see a movie called Raising Huffheins?
posted by kirkaracha at 11:57 AM on February 7, 2008
Buñuel's El Ángel Exterminador. Might be Andalusian cheating.
Also, several of the Thin Man movie titles employ the term properly, if "the Thin Man" is understood to be the name given to the case in the first movie. Just saying.
posted by thinman at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2008
Also, several of the Thin Man movie titles employ the term properly, if "the Thin Man" is understood to be the name given to the case in the first movie. Just saying.
posted by thinman at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2008
Wha? Baraka, Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi are all very meaningfully named. Just google or read their descriptions.
That's like saying "Das Boot" answers the question because it's not about boots....
posted by allterrainbrain at 12:25 PM on February 7, 2008
That's like saying "Das Boot" answers the question because it's not about boots....
posted by allterrainbrain at 12:25 PM on February 7, 2008
Fargo.
It takes place in Brainerd and Minneapolis. Wikipedia says:
It takes place in Brainerd and Minneapolis. Wikipedia says:
On an interview on the Special Edition DVD, the Coens claimed that they titled the movie "Fargo" because it sounded more interesting than "Brainerd."posted by Dec One at 12:38 PM on February 7, 2008
While not technically a single movie, Neon Genesis Evangelion is probably the most counter intuitive title for a show about giant robots. The words in it tie into the show thematically, and the robots are called Evangelions, but it was picked out by the director to be deliberately obscure.
Sword of Doom is an awesome movie, and the title is perfect for it, but there isn't anything that is special about the protagonist's sword aside from his technique and personality. This one might be cheating because it was renamed from the Japanese title which actually made sense.
Pistol Opera is another Japanese movie with a wonderful title that hasn't got anything to do with the movie directly. Again, the title refers more to the thematic elements rather than the action of the piece.
posted by CheshireCat at 1:12 PM on February 7, 2008
Sword of Doom is an awesome movie, and the title is perfect for it, but there isn't anything that is special about the protagonist's sword aside from his technique and personality. This one might be cheating because it was renamed from the Japanese title which actually made sense.
Pistol Opera is another Japanese movie with a wonderful title that hasn't got anything to do with the movie directly. Again, the title refers more to the thematic elements rather than the action of the piece.
posted by CheshireCat at 1:12 PM on February 7, 2008
The Postman Always Rings Twice
posted by twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious at 1:33 PM on February 7, 2008
posted by twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious at 1:33 PM on February 7, 2008
Strangers With Candy
posted by buriednexttoyou at 2:32 PM on February 7, 2008
posted by buriednexttoyou at 2:32 PM on February 7, 2008
"The movie's website states that "‘Syriana’ is a very real term used by Washington think-tanks to describe a hypothetical reshaping of the Middle East."
The film is about the effect of global political machinations on the Middle East. The title of that film read only a little less literally as "Snakes on a Plane" to me.
The titles of Claire Denis's Chocolat, Claude Chabrol's La Ceremonie, Fassbinder/Ozon's Water Drops on Burning Rocks are pretty esoteric.
posted by desuetude at 7:47 PM on February 7, 2008
The film is about the effect of global political machinations on the Middle East. The title of that film read only a little less literally as "Snakes on a Plane" to me.
The titles of Claire Denis's Chocolat, Claude Chabrol's La Ceremonie, Fassbinder/Ozon's Water Drops on Burning Rocks are pretty esoteric.
posted by desuetude at 7:47 PM on February 7, 2008
Minority Report - I don't think they ever talked about such a report
posted by royalchinook at 8:44 AM on February 18, 2008
posted by royalchinook at 8:44 AM on February 18, 2008
Snatch. One, tiny part of the movie a dog "snatches" a ball, that's it. Unless you consider the multiple diamond thefts "snatching"...
posted by whiskey point at 2:28 PM on February 25, 2008
posted by whiskey point at 2:28 PM on February 25, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by modernnomad at 8:10 AM on February 7, 2008