Summary
FromDie HardtoGoodfellastoField of Dreams,movie adaptations of books often change their titles to something snappier and more memorable than that of the source material.Literary titles can be poetic and ambiguous to intrigue readers, but movie titles need to be quick and concise enough to grab people’s attention on a marquee.
Not many viewers would plunk down a few bucks to watch a movie calledDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, but a lot of people would be enticed by a movie calledBlade Runner(ifE.T.didn’t exist). Sometimes, the title is changed to clarify what the movie is about. The title of Stephen King’s novellaRita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemptionwas shortened to justThe Shawshank Redemptionin its film adaptation so it wouldn’t be mistaken for a Rita Hayworth biopic.
Sometimes, the title is shortened. For example, the word-salad book titlesThe Invention of Hugo CabretandThe Cabin at the End of the Worldwere shortened toHugoandKnock at the Cabin, respectively, for their film adaptations.These title changes are often for the best, because they’re clearer and more concise.
10 Movies You Never Realized Were Based On Books
Books represent great source material, and there are so many movies based on books that people may not even know about their literary inspiration.
11Atomic Blonde (2017)
Based onThe Coldest City
David Leitch’sAtomic Blondebrought the kinetic action of theJohn Wickfranchise back to the Cold War.Charlize Theron stars as a high-ranking MI6 field agentdesperately trying to retrieve a list of every active intelligence agent in Berlin on the eve of the Berlin Wall’s collapse. The movie was adapted from a 2012 graphic novel by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart namedThe Coldest City. Mercifully, the producers changed the title before releasing the film.
The Coldest Cityeffectively evokes the spy genre, but it sounds more like a talky John le Carré spy story thanthe fast-paced action thriller thatAtomic Blondeis.The titleAtomic Blondebetter captures the high-octane energy and ‘80s flash of the film adaptation.Atomic Blondesounds a lot more like a potential franchise thanThe Coldest City.
Atomic Blonde
Cast
Based on a graphic novel, Atomic Blonde stars Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 agent who is attempting to locate a sensitive list of double agent spies before it is smuggled from East to West Germany, just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Theron is joined by a cast that includes James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, and John Goodman.
10Goodfellas (1990)
Based onWiseguy
Before teaming up with Martin Scorsese to turn it into a movie,Nicholas Pileggi chronicled the life story of mafioso-turned-informant Henry Hill in his 1985 bookWiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. In translating the story to film, Scorsese changed the title toGoodfellas. This was likely just to avoid confusion with Stephen J. Cannell’s TV series of the same name from the ‘80s, butGoodfellasis a much better title nonetheless.
Wiseguysounds too corny and clichéd.It sounds more like a phony Hollywood interpretation of the mafia than the starkly realistic, almost documentary-like portrayal of the mafia thatGoodfellasis. Plus, there’s a deliciously ironic bite to the titleGoodfellas– these thieves and murderers are the furthest thing from “good fellas” – and that irony ties into the film’s signature dark sense of humor.
Goodfellas
GoodFellas chronicles the life of Henry Hill, a young Brooklynite with half-Irish, half-Sicilian heritage, as he rises through the ranks of a Mafia family. As he navigates the criminal underworld, he is mentored by seasoned gangster Jimmy Conway amidst the backdrop of organized crime in New York.
Goodfellas: How The Cast Compares To The Real Gangsters
Goodfellas is a classic gangster film based on a true story, but the movie deviates from the lives of its characters in surprising ways.
9Manhunter (1986)
Based onRed Dragon
Five years before Anthony Hopkins would win a much-deserved Oscar for playing Hannibal Lecter inThe Silence of the Lambs, the cannibalistic shrink made his first foray to the big screen in Michael Mann’sManhunter.Lecter – here, renamed Lecktor – is played by Brian Cox, while Will Graham, the FBI agent who reluctantly teams up with him, is played by William Petersen.Manhunterwas based on the first ofThomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels,Red Dragon.
Red Dragonsounds more like a martial arts movie than a grisly police procedural about the hunt for a serial killer.
The titleManhunteris much more befitting of this crime thriller thanRed Dragon.Red Dragonsounds more like a martial arts movie than a grisly police procedural about the hunt for a serial killer.Manhunteris much more in line with the actual story. The titleRed Dragonwould eventually be used for Brett Ratner’s 2002 remake, but that film was far inferior toManhunter.
Manhunter
Manhunter is a psychological thriller directed by Michael Mann. Released in 1986, the film follows former FBI profiler Will Graham, portrayed by William Petersen, as he tracks down a serial killer known as “The Tooth Fairy.” The film features strong performances from Brian Cox as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor and Tom Noonan as the chilling antagonist. Manhunter is known for its atmospheric tension and complex character studies.
8Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Based onWho Censored Roger Rabbit?
Robert Zemeckis wowed audiences with a revolutionary blend of live-action and animation inWho Framed Roger Rabbit.The film is essentially a detective noir set in a world in which humans co-exist with cartoon characters.Bob Hoskins plays a toon-hating P.I. who reluctantly works to clear Roger Rabbit’s name when he’s framed for murder. The movie was based on the bookWho Censored Roger Rabbit?by Gary K. Wolf, although it departs significantly from the source material.
Not only isWho Framed Roger Rabbita snappier title thanWho Censored Roger Rabbit?; it alsouses a double meaning to blend the film’s genres.The word “framed” refers to Roger being framed for murder in the film’s noir-ish mystery storyline. But it could also refer to Roger being framed by a camera, suggesting the story’s showbiz setting.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit combines live-action and animation to create a world where humans and cartoon characters coexist. Set in 1940s Hollywood, the film follows a private investigator who is contracted to work on the case of a cartoon framed for murder, despite his dislike of cartoons. Bob Hoskins, Charles Fleischer, Christopher Lloyd, and Kathleen Turner all star.
7Stand By Me (1986)
Based onThe Body
Rob Reiner’s coming-of-age masterpieceStand By Mewas adapted from the Stephen King novellaThe Body.The Bodysounds more like a horror story, which is fitting for the King oeuvre, but not so much for a movie that promises a nostalgic trip to the ‘50s with a group of relatable kids.The Bodyemphasizes the plot point of the corpse, but that’s not the focus of the story.
The promise of seeing a dead body in the woods is what sets the boys off on their journey, but it’s really about their relationships and their brotherly love for each other.Stand By Metakes the focus away from the corpse and onto the Ben E. King track that acts as the film’s theme song. Plus,it highlights the friendship between these four boys who stick by each other through thick and thin.
Stand by Me
Stand by Me is a coming-of-age film directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s novella The Body. Set in the 1950s, it follows four boys from Oregon—Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy—on a journey to find a deceased boy’s body, confronting personal challenges and deepening their friendships.
Stand By Me: 10 Best Quotes About Youth & Friendship
Rob Reiner’s classic Stephen King adaptation Stand by Me captures the feeling of youth and friendship through its many poignant quotes.
6Cape Fear (1962)
Based onThe Executioners
In bringing John D. MacDonald’s novelThe Executionersto the screen, J. Lee Thompson changed the title toCape Fear.The Executionerssounds more like a medieval-based story about the gallows, or a prison movie about death-row inmates and the correction officers who put them down.The story is really about a sadistic serial killer named Max Cadywho, upon his release from jail, seeks revenge against Sam Bowden, the attorney who got him convicted.
The story focuses on Sam’s desperate attempts to keep his family safe, which includes moving them to a houseboat in Cape Fear.The titleCape Fearsuggests a family vacation spot with an unnerving undercurrent of terror, which perfectly sums up the movie.UnlikeRed Dragon, whenThe Executionerswas re-adapted for the screen by Martin Scorsese, he kept Thompson’s replacement title,Cape Fear– and it’s easy to see why.
Cape Fear
A remake of the 1962 movie of the same name, which itself was based on a John D. MacDonald novel, Cape Fear tells the story of a convicted rapist who is looking to get even with the lawyer who helped to put him away for 14 years. Many of the cast of the original movies make cameo appearances, including both Martin Balsam and Gregory Peck.
5There Will Be Blood (2007)
Based onOil!
Paul Thomas Anderson used Upton Sinclair’s novelOil!as a jumping-off point to explore Southern California’s oil boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in a cinematic form. But in adapting the story for the screen, he changed the title toThere Will Be Blood.Oil!certainly gets to the point and tells the audience exactly what the story is about, butThere Will Be Bloodisn’t really about oil.Oil is just a black, sludgy visual symbol of the corruption of Daniel Plainview’s soul.
The titleThere Will Be Bloodputs the focus more on Plainview’s dark downfall than the oil that made his fortune. With an exclamation point at the end,Oil!sounds more like a comedy, likeAirplane!orTop Secret!.There Will Be Bloodpromises something much more sinister – and the movie delivers.
There Will Be Blood
Loosely based on an Upton Sinclair novel, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood follows Daniel Plainview, a ruthless entrepreneur and oil man who, in his quest to run a successful oil business, slowly descends into crime and corruption and alienates everyone around him. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Plainview, alongside co-stars Paul Dano, Kevin J. O’Connor, and Ciarán Hinds.
4Die Hard (1988)
Based onNothing Lasts Forever
John McTiernan took Roderick Thorp’s novelNothing Lasts Foreverand turned it into the perfect action movie. There are a few key differences betweenNothing Lasts Foreverand its adaptationDie 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. Butthe core concept is the same: terrorists invade a skyscraper during an office Christmas partyand it’s up to a lone-wolf cop to save the day.
Die Hardsounds sharper and punchier, promising plenty of exhilarating action.
Nothing Lasts Foreversounds more like a romantic drama than an action thriller.Die Hardsounds 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.
Die Hard
Die Hard follows NYPD officer John McClane as he attempts to rescue hostages, including his estranged wife, from terrorists who have overtaken a Los Angeles skyscraper. Released in 1988, this action film is noted for its central character’s resourcefulness and determination in overcoming overwhelming odds with limited assistance.
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25 Of The Best Quotes From The Original Die Hard
Die Hard is still considered to be perhaps the greatest action movie of all time. Let’s celebrate its legacy with these unforgettable quotes.
2Field Of Dreams (1989)
Based onShoeless Joe
W.P. Kinsella’sShoeless Joeoriginated the story of an Iowa farmer who uses his magical cornfield as a conduit to bring back the ghosts of legendary baseball players. ButField of Dreamstook that novel andturned it into the ultimate father-son story.Shoeless Joeisn’t a terrible title, but it doesn’t suit the story as well asField of Dreams.Shoeless Joemakes 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 titleField of Dreamsis 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.
Field of Dreams
Based on a novel by W. P. Kinsella, Field of Dreams stars Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella, a farmer living in Iowa who one evening begins hearing a mysterious voice urging him to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield. An avid baseball fan, Ray takes on the project in hopes of honoring his late father. Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Burt Lancaster also star.
