We love movie titles. Whether they're eleborate, like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind or simple, like Star Wars, they're mostly brilliant.
Working titles, on the other hand, are rubbish. Don't believe us? Get your eyes around this lot...
Black Mask
Pulp Fiction
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: We’ve seen Pulp Fiction more than a few times, and we can’t remember a single scene that featured a black mask. Not one.
What was Tarantino drinking when he named the script? Probably the same stuff that made him smash his forehead on the typewriter to name Inglourious Basterds.
[page-break]
The Cut Whore Killings
Unforgiven
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: Unforgiven is a meditative western thematically centred around the concept of redemption. It is not an Italian Giallo from the 1970s featuring ladies in nighties getting chopped up for showing their boobies.
[page-break]
The Seven Deadly Sins
Se7en
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: Se7en is a brilliant title; it uses typographical trickery like its lead villain, it’s impossible to pronounce (unless you want to look like a fool by saying Sesevenen) and it looks cool.
The Seven Deadly Sins is, admittedly, descriptive, but dull.
[page-break]
Everybody Comes to Rick’s
Casablanca
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: Because it’s stupid. Who the hell is Rick and why should we care that he’s so popular? 'Everybody Comes To Rick's'... Honestly. We hate him!
Also, if they’d have stuck with this particular working title, ‘50s audiences would have been sorely disappointed after buying a ticket to see a film starring ‘everybody’ only to realise that Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and King Kong don’t go to Rick’s once.
[page-break]
Wimpy
Psycho
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: Because no-one would’ve gone to see it, Alfred Hitchcock wouldn’t have had his breakout hit and we would have never seen Vertigo (working title: ‘Listen Darkling’). Seriously.
[page-break]
Not Tonight, Josephine!
Some Like It Hot
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: Weirdly, Not Tonight, Josephine! is a more logical title. It features the name of the lead character (well, his transvestite alter-ego, anyway) and there’s nothing like an exclamation mark to suggest that what you’re about to watch is some sort of slapstick comedy.
Still, Some Like It Hot alludes to Sugar Kane’s sexiness and you can’t argue with that.
[page-break]
It Had to Be Jew
Annie Hall
Why we’re glad it wasn’t: We’re all for the occasional pun, but seriously, It Had To Be Jew is all kinds of rubbish - especially coming from one of the greatest comic minds of our lifetime.
Annie Hall is a smart, sophisticated classic comedy. It Had To Be Jew isn't.
