Better-Titled Movie Adaptations Than the Books They're Based On
movie adaptations of books frequently rename their films to something catchier and more memorable than the original titles, from Die Hard to Goodfellas to Field of Dreams. movie titles need to be brief and snappy enough to catch people's attention on a marquee, but literary titles might be poetic and ambiguous to pique readers' interest. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? would probably not draw in many viewers, while Blade Runner (assuming E.T. didn't exist) would draw in plenty of ticket buyers.
Making Content Clear and Using Short Titles
Occasionally, the title of a film is altered to make its meaning more apparent. The film version of Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption changed the title to just The Shawshank Redemption to avoid confusion with a Rita Hayworth biopic. Occasionally, the title is abbreviated. For instance, the word-salad book titles The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Knock at the Cabin were abbreviated to Hugo and The Cabin at the End of the World, respectively. Because they are clearer and more succinct, title changes are frequently for the better.
Alluring Titles for Film Remakes
Here are a few famous instances of movie adaptations where changing the title was advantageous:
Atomic Blonde Hair
With Atomic Blonde, director David Leitch returned the John Wick series' action-packed scenes to the Cold War. On the eve of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Charlize Theron plays a high-ranking MI6 field agent who is working feverishly to get a list of all the intelligence agents that are currently functioning in Berlin. The Coldest City, a 2012 graphic novel by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, served as the basis for the film. Thankfully, the film's producers altered the title prior to its theatrical release.
Though it seems more like a talky John le Carré spy narrative than the fast-paced action thriller that Atomic Blonde is, The Coldest City successfully recalls the spy genre. The film adaptation's high-octane adrenaline and '80s flare is better encapsulated by the title Atomic Blonde. Compared to The Coldest City, Atomic Blonde sounds like a far better possible franchise.
The Goodfellas
Nicholas Pileggi documented the life story of mafioso-turned-informant Henry Hill in his 1985 book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family before collaborating with Martin Scorsese to adapt it into a film. Scorsese retitled the narrative as Goodfellas when adapting it for the big screen. This was probably done only to avoid confusion with the 1980s TV show of the same name starring Stephen J. Cannell, but Goodfellas is still a far better title.
Wiseguy seems very sentimental and overdone. Rather from being the brutally realistic, almost documentary-like picture of the mafia that Goodfellas is, it sounds more like a fake Hollywood version of the mafia. Furthermore, the title Goodfellas has a wickedly satirical bite—these robbers and killers are the opposite of "good fellas"—and this irony plays into the film's distinct dark sense of humor.
Manhunter
The cannibalistic shrink made his big screen debut in Michael Mann's Manhunter, five years before Anthony Hopkins would take home a well-earned Oscar for his performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Brian Cox plays Lecter, now known as Lecktor, and William Petersen plays Will Graham, the FBI agent who reluctantly joins forces with him. Red Dragon, the first of Thomas Harris's Hannibal Lecter novels, served as the inspiration for Manhunter.
Red Dragon is a far less appropriate title for this criminal thriller than Manhunter. Red Dragon sounds less like a graphic police procedural about a serial killer on the prowl and more like a martial arts film. Manhunter is far more consistent with the narrative. In the end, Brett Ratner's 2002 remake of Manhunter would adopt the title Red Dragon, but that movie was significantly worse.
Who Arrested Rabbit Roger
In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Robert Zemeckis dazzled viewers with a ground-breaking fusion of live action and animation. In essence, the movie is a noir detective story that takes place in a world where cartoon characters and people live together. An anti-toon detective played by Bob Hoskins unwillingly attempts to defend Roger Rabbit's name when he is falsely accused of murder. Though it deviates greatly from the original work, the film was based on Gary K. Wolf's book Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
In addition to having a catchier title than Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, Who Framed Roger Rabbit also combines two different genres with a double meaning. The term "framed" describes how Roger is being set up for murder in the noir-style mystery plot of the movie. Alternatively, it can allude to Roger being framed by a camera, implying the showbiz backdrop of the narrative.
Please Stand By Me
The Stephen King novella The Body served as the inspiration for Rob Reiner's iconic coming-of-age film Stand By Me. The Body sounds more like a horror narrative, which is appropriate given King's body of work, but not so much for a film that aims to transport audiences back to the 1950s through a cast of realistic young people. While The Body draws attention to the corpse's plot aspect, the story's main focus is elsewhere.
The guys head off on their adventure with the hope of finding a dead body in the woods, but what really matters is their bond as brothers and their affection for one another. The song by Ben E. King that serves as the movie's theme music, Stand By Me, draws attention away from the corpse. It also emphasizes the friendship that these four guys have, sticking by one other through good times and bad.
Cape Fear
J. Lee Thompson retitled John D. MacDonald's novel The Executioners as Cape Fear in order to adapt it for the big screen. The Executioners has the feel of a prison film about death row convicts and the guards who put them to death, or a medieval tale about the gallows. The main character of the novel is Max Cady, a vicious serial killer who plans to exact revenge on Sam Bowden, the lawyer who helped get him convicted, after being released from prison.
The narrative centers on Sam's frantic efforts to protect his family, including their relocation to a houseboat in Cape Fear. The movie Cape Fear is aptly named since it depicts a family holiday destination with a creepy undertone of horror. In contrast to Red Dragon, Martin Scorsese retained Thompson's new title, Cape Fear, when he remade The Executioners for the big screen, and it's understandable why.
There Will Be Blood, There
Paul Thomas Anderson explored the late 19th and early 20th century oil boom in Southern California through a cinematic interpretation of Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!. However, he retitled the story There Will Be Blood as he was making the adaptation for the big screen. Oil! is a concise and clear explanation of the plot for the audience, although There Will Be Blood isn't truly about oil. Oil is merely a dark, murky visual representation of Daniel Plainview's soul's degradation.
The title There Will Be Blood emphasizes Plainview's sinister decline rather than the oil that brought him wealth. Airplane! or Top Secret! sound more like comedies than Oil!, especially with the exclamation point at the end. The movie delivers on its darker than expected theme, as There Will Be Blood makes clear.
Die Hard
John McTiernan took Roderick Thorp’s novel Nothing Lasts Forever and turned it into the perfect action movie. There are a few key differences between Nothing Lasts Forever and its adaptation Die Hard (not least the title). In the book, the protagonist is a retired NYPD detective, and he attends his daughter’s office Christmas party, not his estranged wife’s. But the core concept is the same: terrorists invade a skyscraper during an office Christmas party and it’s up to a lone-wolf cop to save the day.
Nothing Lasts Forever sounds more like a romantic drama than an action thriller. Die Hard sounds sharper and punchier, promising plenty of exhilarating action. Plus, it follows the grand tradition of two-word action movie titles: Top Gun, Point Break, Lethal Weapon, First Blood, Dirty Harry, Mad Max – it’s in good company.
Field Of Dreams
W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe originated the story of an Iowa farmer who uses his magical cornfield as a conduit to bring back the ghosts of legendary baseball players. But Field Of Dreams took that novel and turned it into the ultimate father-son story. Shoeless Joe isn’t a terrible title, but it doesn’t suit the story as well as Field of Dreams. Shoeless Joe makes it sound like Shoeless Joe Jackson, the famous outfielder played by Ray Liotta, is the main character of the film.
But in the movie adaptation, Ray Kinsella’s magical baseball field that resurrects sports legends is just there to reconnect him with his late father John. The title Field of Dreams is more suitable for the fantastical elements of the story. Audiences might have been disappointed if they were expecting a straightforward biopic and got a movie about ghosts playing baseball.
Blade Runner
Philip K. Dick’s iconic science fiction stories are often adapted for the screen, but they rarely retain their original title. “Adjustment Team” became The Adjustment Bureau, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale became Total Recall, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? became Blade Runner. Ridley Scott created his own subgenre of sci-fi cinema – the tech noir – with the futuristic detective story of Blade Runner. But the movie might not have become such a classic with the book’s wordy original title.
The term “blade runner” never actually appears in the source novel, but it’s a badass moniker for robot-hunting cops and an equally badass title for the movie. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a great title for a thoughtful sci-fi novel, but as a movie title, it wouldn’t promise much excitement. Blade Runner promises action and suspense.
