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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Titles in Translation
Dirty Harry . An almost direct translation in this case, which is somewhat unusual.
Eastwood's first appearance as cop Harry Callahan.
An Affair To Remember. Ok, this could have fit any of the choices. 'An Affair to Remember' was once shown here directly following 'Sleepless In Seattle', in which 'Affair...' is featured.
Sonrisas y Lagrimas. No literal translation this time, but tuning in to 'Smiles and Tears' will bring you Julie Andrews, Chris Plummer and the kids.
The Natural. Literally 'The Best'. 'Citizen Kane' is shown as 'Ciudadano Kane', a literal translation.
The Chase. 'Jauria' is a pack of hounds. This is a lesser known Brando film from 1966. Brando plays a small town sheriff trying to recapture prison escapee Robert Redford before the 'human pack' of townspeople lynches him. Jane Fonda is also in it.
Stanley and Iris. Literally 'Letters to Iris'. Jane Fonda (again) as Iris who teaches Stanley (Robert De Niro) to read and write.
'Kind Hearts and Coronets'. Dennis Price plays a young man who sets out to murder the eight people who stand between him and a large inheritance. Alec Guinness plays all eight victims in this very funny comedy.
'Dr Strangelove'. '..Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb' to give the full title. Peter Sellers plays multiple roles in this black comedy directed by Stanley Kubrick.
'Donovan's Reef'. 'Donovan's Reef' was the Duke's last feature with director John Ford. 'The Irish Pub' is a more or less literal translation and the other two choices both starred John Wayne, but without Marvin.
'First Knight'. The powers who decide these things settled for a literal translation for this film directed by Jerry Zucker. The other choices starred either Connery or Gere, but not both.
'The Cable Guy'. 'Madman In the House' could describe almost any film starring Jim Carrey, in my opinion, but it has been assigned to 'The Cable Guy'.
'Elmer Gantry'. The Spanish presumably chose 'The Fire and the Word' as it is more descriptive of the plot than the original title. Lancaster also starred in both 'Rainmaker' and 'Birdman'.
'The Deer Hunter'. Christopher Walken won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in 'The Deer Hunter'. There is a movie called 'The Hunter' but it was made in 1980 and starred Steve McQueen, and is shown as 'Cazador al Sueldo'('Salary Hunter') in Spain.
'Bounty Hunter'. Once again, this is a (more or less) literal translation.
'Dial M For Murder'. Robert Cummings also starred in this Hitchcock thriller, which was filmed in 3D.
'Bandido'. I apologise for what must seem like a trick question, but I could not resist. It seems not to have been necessary to re-title a film when the 'English' title was already in Spanish!
| "Tant Qu'il Y Aura des Hommes" (1953), tells the trials and tribulations of a group of soldiers on a Hawaii army base in the days before the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Ernest Borgnine star in this drama. Can you name the film's English title? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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From Here to Eternity. The French title means "As Long As There Will Be Men". The movie, based on a novel by James Jones, earned Frank Sinatra a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as "Maggio", a soldier abused by a sadistic sergeant (Ernest Borgnine). It is also the setting for the famous love scene on the beach between Burt Lancaster's and Deborah Kerr's characters.
| "L'Aventure de Mme Muir" (1947) is the magical love story between a young widow and a dead sea captain. These two characters are played by Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, respectively. Can you name the original title of this movie? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. "The Adventure of Mrs. Muir" is the English translation of the French title. The movie is adapted from R. A. Dick's novel of the same English title. It is about newly widowed Mrs. Muir (Tierney) who moves into a lighthouse with her daughter and encounters the ghost of its former mariner owner (Harrison). Initially annoyed by each other's presence, they are soon involved in an impossible love relationship.
| "Le Train Sifflera 3 Fois" (1952) is a western with Gary Cooper as a marshall awaiting the arrival by train of a man he once sent to prison and now out for revenge. Grace Kelly plays the marshall's bride. Can you name this movie's English title? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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High Noon. The French title means "The Train Will Whistle Three Times". "High Noon" was considered by its critics as uncharacteristic of a western. Filmed almost in real time, there is no action until the last ten minutes of the movie when the marshall finally comes face to face with his enemy.
| In "La Garçonnière" (1960), Jack Lemmon plays a servile life insurance company employee who regularly lends his apartment to his married boss (Fred MacMurray) and other executives for their amorous trysts. Shirley Maclaine co-stars as one of the mistresses. What is this movie's English title? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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The Apartment. The French title means "Bachelor Pad". Nominated for ten Oscars, the movie won five, including Best Picture and Best Director for Billy Wilder. Another black and white film would not win the Academy Award for Best Picture until "Schindler's List" in 1993.
| Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Jean Parker, and Frances Dee play sisters in "Les Quatre Filles du Docteur March" (1933). The movie tells their stories at home with their mother while their father is away serving as a minister in the American Civil War. Can you name its original title? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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Little Women. The French title means "The Four Daughters of Dr. March". The movie is based on a novel by Louisa May Alcott and won the Academy Award for Best Writing (Adaptation). Itself being a remake of a 1918 film, another version of it was done in 1949 with Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret O'Brien, June Allyson and Janet Leigh, followed by another more recent one in 1994, with Susan Sarandon, Wynona Ryder, and Claire Danes.
| "Elle et Lui" (1957) is the story of a man and a woman who fall in love aboard a ship on their way back to New York and promise to meet again in 6 months on top of the Empire State Building. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr star. Do you know the English title of this film? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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An Affair To Remember. "Her and Him" is the translation to the French title. Although Nickie (Grant) and Terry (Kerr) are committed to others, they make a pact to meet again; however, Terry is struck by a car while on her way to their tryst... This movie is a remake of "Love Affair" by the same director, Leo McCarey, in 1939.
| In "Diamants sur Canapé" (1961), Audrey Hepburn plays a callgirl, Holly Goligthly, who is determined to marry a rich man when she meets her new neighbor (George Peppard), a young writer who is "kept" by a wealthy older woman. Can you name the movie's English title? | American Classic Film Titles in French
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Breakfast at Tiffany's. "Diamonds On A Sofa" would be a literal translation but in this context, "canapé" is an appetizer which is usually made of a small piece of bread or a cracker topped with cheese, meat or other savory foods.
The movie is based on a novel by Truman Capote. Its theme song, "Moon River" (sung by Audrey Hepburn in the movie) earned Henry Mancini the Oscar for Best Music in both the Original Song and Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture categories.
| The 1997 Oscar winning British movie about unemployed steel workers who stripped to earn money was called "The Full Monty". What was it called in Mainland China? | Amusing Movie Titles Lost in Translation
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Six Naked Pigs. In UK the term "the full Monty" was slang for "the whole thing" or "to go the whole way" and in the movie comedy it referred to six unemployed steel workers who stripped completely naked in order to earn money and find some meaning in their lives. The plot focused on the steel workers bonding as a team and coming to terms with issues such as unemployment, sexuality, suicide, self confidence, family and self respect. This was ultimately a "feel good" movie about what could be achieved by pulling together in the face of adversity.
In Hong Kong the movie title "The Full Monty" translated to Cantonese as "Six Stripped Warriors" but in Mandarin it was interpreted as "Six Naked Pigs". The stars must have been overjoyed to be known as naked pigs by over 20% of the world's population.
The movie won the Academy Award for Best Music Score and was nominated for four awards in total including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay. It also won the UK BAFTA for Best Film.
Total Film magazine in 2000 voted "The Full Monty" as the 49th greatest comedy of all time and in 2007 it was voted as the second greatest British comedy.
The Blair Witch Project. "The Blair Witch Project" was shot as a documentary about three student film makers who got lost in a forest whilst researching a local myth about witchcraft. The plot was seen through the lens of the students' camera to horrific effect, as one by one they disappeared. In the end all that was left was the camera and the film record. Much of the action took place out of shot to build up the tension.
Although a completely fictitious movie, there was a lot of pre-release publicity to suggest it related to actual events. This sparked tremendous interest, making it an extremely successful independent film.
The 2000 comedy spoof "The Bare Wench Project" was released in Taiwan under the name "Night in the Cramped Forest 2" causing some movie goers to believe it was a sequel. When the actual sequel, "Book of Shadows - Blair Witch 2" was released the Taiwanese distributors had to change the title to "Spirits of the Dead Roar".
As Good as It Gets. "As Good As It Gets" was a romantic comedy about an obsessive compulsive writer, a single mother waitress and a gay artist who were thrown together through circumstances. When the artist got beaten up and hospitalised the writer involuntarily ended up looking after his dog with the help of the waitress. The movie explored the social interactions and just how good life got through the relationships of the unlikely trio.
Presumably the Chinese title was a reference to Nicholson's cranky character.
The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards winning both the Best Actor for Nicolson and Best Actress for Helen Hunt. It also won 23 other cinema awards including three Golden Globes.
Boogie Nights. The movie was about a young man’s rise to stardom as an actor in the California porn movie industry of the 1970s and 80s. Dirk Diggler played by Mark Wahlberg was discovered by producer Jack Horner played by Burt Reynolds but his meteoric rise to stardom soon degenerated into arrogance and drug abuse in this dramatic tribute to the glam disco era.
"Boogie Nights" was nominated for three Academy Awards and was Reynolds' only Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. He didn’t win but did get the Golden Globe in the same category.
The Cable Guy. "The Cable Guy" was a disturbing and dark comedy thriller about a cable TV engineer who stalked one of his customers. When the customer requested installing some free access channels, Carey's character used this as leverage to blackmail him into a friendship which spiralled into mayhem. It was one of Jim Carey’s early movies and won him MTV awards for Best Comedic Performance and Best Villain.
Originally not well received by critics and movie goers "The Cable Guy" did eventually turn a sizeable profit and has received cult status.
There was no apparent logic behind the Chinese title translation until you appreciate that Jim Carey was known in East Asia as "Trump Card" as his first movies were the "Ace Ventura" series and Ace translated as "Trump Card". "Liar Liar" was translated as "Trump Card Big Liar".
Strangely the first "Austin Powers" movie was released in East Asia as "Trump Card Big Spy". It didn't star Jim Carey but as author, Nury Vittachi mentioned in his column in "The Standard" Hong Kong newspaper, "It starred Mike Myers rather than Jim Carrey, but distributors apparently thought that the fact that it was a completely different human being was too subtle a difference to worry about. Why be fussy? Deranged white guys are deranged white guys."
The English Patient. "The English Patient" was a romance drama set in a hospital in Italy at the close of WWII. Through a series of flash backs the identity of a badly burned pilot was slowly revealed which impacted on the other characters in the hospital.
The movie was nominated for eleven Academy Awards winning an incredible nine including best Picture and Best Director and also won 41 other movie awards.
"The English Patient" took its title from the 1992 Booker Prize novel but the Chinese title was certainly more alluring. A more direct translation to "The Sick Englishman" would almost certainly have flopped at the Chinese box offices.
The "Adam and Joe Show" on UK TV "Channel 4" ran a spoof called "The Toy Patient" using animated soft toys. Star, Ralph Fiennes liked it so much he contacted the show for a copy.
Enjoy Yourself in the Game of Love. "There’s Something About Mary" was a romantic comedy about Ted, played by Ben Stiller chasing his childhood sweetheart, Mary, played by Cameron Diaz. Throughout the movie, Mary, without realising it, had a romantic impact on almost everyone she met, which created all sorts of rivalries for Ted to deal with. The movie was infamous for the hair gel scene which spawned numerous spoofs and product advertisements.
The movie was nominated for two Golden Globes and various sources rated it amongst the top US comedy movies of all time.
Actually all the answers were different countries' versions of the movie title. "There's Something About Mary" didn’t translate very well in many languages so 20th Century Fox named the movie on a country by country basis. Some of these apparent titles were:
Poland: "For the Love of a Blonde"
France: "Mary at All Costs"
Thailand: "My True Love Will Stand All Outrageous Events"
Germany: "Crazy About Mary"
Brazil: "Who Stays With Mary?"
Spain: "Something Else Happened To Mary"
Blade Runner. The movie had nothing to do with silver wings, but then again it had nothing to do with blades or runners either so the English title was just as misleading. The producer had bought the rights to the title of an unrelated book about a man who smuggled surgical supplies and director, Ridley Scott though it would be a good title for the movie. The movie was based on another book by Philip K. Dick which also had a pretty strange title; "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".
"Blade Runner" was set in a dystopic future Los Angeles and was actually about a retired police officer, Rick Deckard played by Harrison Ford, who was coerced into a last job of hunting down renegade bio-engineered human clones or "replicants".
The movie was in danger of running over budget and Scott was under pressure to cease filming. The finished product was then harshly edited and a voice over added to clarify the plot. The original cinema version confused audiences and the dark view of the future was not well received in the US. However, the movie did well internationally and became a cult sci-fi epic spawning a whole genre of tech noir movies. It won three UK BAFTAs and was regularly rated in listings as one of the top movies of all time.
There have been numerous versions of the movie released on DVD and some of these indicated that Deckard might himself have been a replicant.
The death monologue of Roy Batty and perhaps the most memorable line of the movie, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched sea beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears ... in rain. Time to die." was apparently ad-libbed by actor Rutger Hauer.
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