Various lists indicate that—even leaving remakes, re-titlings, translations and straight-out rip-offs out of the equation—there have been something like 150 recorded instances of two films carrying the same title.
So that’s not so rare. What is rare, however, is both films in any given pairing achieving the same measure of ongoing success. Almost always, in the end one of the two will position itself in the public consciousness as “the” film of that name. Mention Independence Day to someone, for example, and “small-town drama” probably isn’t the first thing that will spring to mind.
Here at the B-Masters, however, “obvious” is a dirty word. So join us as we take a look at some films that live in the shadow of their title-twins—and which tend to cause confusion, cross-purpose conversation, and finally a cry of—
It’s NO, NOT THAT ONE—all through February at the B-Masters’ blog!
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Liz Kingsley is the insane genius behind And You Call Yourself a Scientist!
#1 by Richard on February 1, 2017 - 12:09 pm
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I’m already enjoying trying to guess which movies will wind up on the Round Table….
“The Kid”. “Gladiator”. “Twilight”. “Notorious”. “The General”.
For the Copyright Regulations nerd, Slate has an old article explaining how title registration works:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2005/05/double_trouble.html
#2 by The Rev. on February 3, 2017 - 12:24 pm
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Oooo, I really like this premise! Looking forward to it, as I’m betting I won’t know most of these. Unless someone does movies that were alternately titled Zombi (insert # here).
#3 by blake on February 3, 2017 - 4:46 pm
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Hmm…some examples that I’m aware of:
“Bulletproof”
“Dragon on Fire”
“The Quest”
“Breaking Point”
“Buried Alive”
“Bullet in the Head”
And Unknown Movies practically jumped the gun with the Eric Stoltz “Lionheart”.
#4 by Alaric on February 3, 2017 - 7:06 pm
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Am I the only one who’s been thinking up nonexistent examples ever since this roundtable was announced?
STAR WARS- A hard-hitting, no-punches-pulled dramatization of the constant feuding between Hollywood movie stars during the ’30s and ’40s.
NIGHT OF THE IGUANA- A giant lizard, mutated by radiation, threatens a small town in this ’50s sci-fi classic.
TITANIC- British sci-fi thriller about a scientist who experiments with a growth formula.
GODZILLA VERSUS MOTHRA- Two well-known film critics debate the relative strengths and weaknesses of two classic Japanese monster movies.
#5 by Alaric on February 3, 2017 - 7:10 pm
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Just thought of another one-
YELLOW SUBMARINE- A submarine crew with a reputation for cowardice undertakes a suicide mission in this gritty war-time drama.
#6 by The Rev. on February 4, 2017 - 3:25 am
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: The misadventures of a feline trapped on top of a shack during the hottest day of the year.
….I’m not good at this.
Okay, I actually did come up with one I liked.
Jaws: A biopic looking at the life and times of James Bond’s most infamous foe.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure out what Lyz is going to review, like I do, but I’m a little stumped on this one. I can only think of a couple that would be in her wheelhouse, and a couple more outside possibilities. Also, I’m worried she’ll change up her choice if I yet again guess correctly, then come here all “That’s right! That’s right! You don’t know me!” and sending me an e-mail with a photo of her pointing and laughing with the caption “HA-ha!” underneath, and I’d never hear the end of it.
#7 by lyzard on February 6, 2017 - 9:43 pm
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Yeesh! Settle… 🙂
I don’t think enough of the usual parameters apply to let you work this one out, though you certainly might guess. I’m planning on one new film and one resurrected review, all being well; you should be able to figure out the latter.
#8 by The Rev. on February 8, 2017 - 1:23 am
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You’re just miffed I have you figured out. 😛
The resurrected review…there are a couple of possibilities. The one I think most likely starts with an “I.” I guess we’ll see before long.
Hopefully all is well with you. And not just for review losting purposes, obviously. 🙂
#9 by The Rev. on February 8, 2017 - 1:23 am
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Er…that should, of course, be “review posting purposes.”
#10 by Jared on February 5, 2017 - 3:27 pm
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Does that include movies whose titles differ from each other by just one word? Because I know I’ve done quite a few double-takes whenever I see the title Sole Survivor in the index of reviews here, only to realize the movie I’m thinking of is called Lone Survivor.
#11 by lyzard on February 6, 2017 - 9:41 pm
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There may be an exception or two but generally we’re allowing a stray “The” and a change in punctuation—otherwise holding as closely as possible to the alternative film’s title.
#12 by goddessoftransitory on February 9, 2017 - 2:55 am
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Well, you guys already did Eclipse, so I’m stymied.
#13 by Count Otto Black on February 11, 2017 - 12:31 pm
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You may have noticed that a film called “Doctor Strange” recently did quite well. I seem to remember another film of that name, which was technically about the same character, but only just!
“The Black Cat” – Two completely different films, unrelated apart from both having a tenuous Poe connection and both starring Bela Lugosi.
“The Raven” – Same as the above, only both starring Boris Karloff.
(And of the previous four films, Bela and Boris are each in three of them.)
Talking of Roger Corman, “Hell’s Angels On Wheels” had to be given that clumsy title instead of the obvious one to avoid confusion with a much earlier British film called “Hell’s Angels” about WW2 fighter pilots (therefore specifically NOT on wheels), so it would have counted if it hadn’t gone out of its way not to.
“The Beast” – There’s the Peter Benchley one about a giant squid, or that other one about the sex-crazed French gorilla with the huge… Perhaps that’s a bad example…
“The Fast And The Furious” – Good example! The fifties B-movie with John Ireland, or a certain billion-buck franchise starring that inexplicably famous bald bloke with the porn star name.
“Inglorious Bastards” – Not quite the same title because it’s spelled correctly; the fact that the better-known one isn’t presumably has to do with copyrights and such. This one’s a WW2 thriller blatantly ripped off from “The Dirty Dozen” in which badass Jews do NOT kill Hitler because that’s not really a thing that happened. Sorry, Quentin.
“Warlock” – If it’s “Warlock” (1982), it’s a fantasy about an evil time-traveling wizard starring Richard E. Grant and Julian Sands. If it’s “Warlock” (1959), it’s a very odd western starring Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn, who has a club foot, Donald Trump’s hair, and is strongly implied to be in love with Henry Fonda.
Honorable Mention: “Troll”, for having a hero called Harry Potter who is a boy wizard long before J. K. Rowling invented him. She swears she never saw this movie and it’s a pure coincidence – honest!
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