When the Moral of the Story Is the Title of the Movie

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I saw an ad for the movie Never Back Down, which looks awful, and it got me to thinking....are there any good or acclaimed movies where the moral of the story also happens to be the title? Are banal movie titles going to be the new terrible Hollywood trend? If there are more titles like "Never Back Down," it seems terrifyingly realistic that there will be movies called "Don't Give Up" and "Never Give In"...until one day, they will all be indistinguishable from one another.

Does anyone else foresee this Orwellian nightmare?

[vesaker]

Kill Bill was pretty good

[Le_Big_Mac]

I thought No Country for Old Men kind of summarized what the movie was about.

[APzombie]

kill bill is an action though, not necessarily a message. Along the lines of what Brando's getting at is if kill bill was called "never fucking forgive" or something.

[jackson13]

As far as I'm concerned, every single one of these movies is simply called "Don't Watch This."

[The Postmaster General]

It becomes less confusing once you realize he hasn't read any of the replies.


Brando, I can't think of any...

Scratch that --- I think THERE WILL BE BLOOD fits the bill, but maybe that's not exactly what you're looking for. I think you're talking about ones more blatant, hmm.....

Never Talk To Strangers?

[RustyRazor]

I Know What You Did Last Summer?

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer?

(And the straight to DVD prequel) I Became Aware Of What You Did Last Summer But Was Away So Now I'm Back And Ready To Give It My Full Attention.

[BakeTheMooCow]

It's a Wonderful Life?

[Brando @$$ Fat]

It becomes less confusing once you realize he hasn't read any of the replies.


Brando, I can't think of any...

Scratch that --- I think THERE WILL BE BLOOD fits the bill, but maybe that's not exactly what you're looking for. I think you're talking about ones more blatant, hmm.....

Never Talk To Strangers?


Well, I've read them now. It's a Wonderful Life is a good one, didn't think of that. I guess Never Talk to Strangers is a moral also. At first I thought Stand By Me might count, but it's a little too vague. It would have to be more like "Cherish Your Friends and Youth."

Still, the banality isn't quite as strong as it is with Never Back Down.

No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Kill Bill, etc wouldn't qualify. They would have to be called "Fate is a Bitch," "Oil and Religion Do Not Mix Very Well," and as mentioned earlier "Never Fucking Forgive."

[MISFITS_Fiend]

No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Kill Bill, etc wouldn't qualify. They would have to be called "Fate is a Bitch," "Oil and Religion Do Not Mix Very Well," and as mentioned earlier "Never Fucking Forgive."

I disagree, at least about No Country for Old Men. I thought the title summed up the movie perfectly; it was more about how brutal and lawless the "country" became in the movie, and less about Moss stealing the money. Tommy Lee Jones summed that up in the last 5 minutes when he was talking about what sheriffs used to be like back in the day (no guns, tight-knit communities, etc.).

I haven't seen There Will be Blood, so I can't comment on that one. As for Never Back Down, I think a better title would be No Fucking Way.

[bigred760]

I don't think Never Back Down was titled that to deliver a moral or a lesson. I'm thinking the writers/producers/whoevers were thinking it sounded cool and hoped it would attract it's main demographic. I think movies like It's a Wonderful Life were titled for the message alone.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I disagree, at least about No Country for Old Men. I thought the title summed up the movie perfectly; it was more about how brutal and lawless the "country" became in the movie, and less about Moss stealing the money. Tommy Lee Jones summed that up in the last 5 minutes when he was talking about what sheriffs used to be like back in the day (no guns, tight-knit communities, etc.).

I haven't seen There Will be Blood, so I can't comment on that one. As for Never Back Down, I think a better title would be No Fucking Way.

Yeah, but you're confusing a moral for something that just describes a message. A moral deals more with ethical lessons.

[echo_bravo]

How about this one...

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u252/laylow180/get-rich-or-die-tryin-dvd-poster.jpg

[Raoul Duke]

Yeah, but you're confusing a moral for something that just describes a message. A moral deals more with ethical lessons.

I dunno.

There Will Be Blood's tagline was:

"When ambition meets faith.." and then the title following that.

So I think that might make sense to what yer gettin' at.


But I'd like to add LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD!

[starcat]

No Retreat, No Surrender

[The Postmaster General]

Well, I've read them now.

That wasn't directed at you, but to the person who sounded like they were saying No Country, and Kill Bill weren't worth watching.


It's a Wonderful Life is a good one, didn't think of that. I guess Never Talk to Strangers is a moral also. At first I thought Stand By Me might count, but it's a little too vague. It would have to be more like "Cherish Your Friends and Youth."

Still, the banality isn't quite as strong as it is with Never Back Down.

No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Kill Bill, etc wouldn't qualify. They would have to be called "Fate is a Bitch," "Oil and Religion Do Not Mix Very Well," and as mentioned earlier "Never Fucking Forgive."


When I think of a moral, I think of a message or lesson derived from a story, and I think There Will Be Blood delivers that in its title. Granted, you have to know the movie to understand the moral within the title, but I think the same can be said for "Never Back Down" - For all we know it could be about a suicidal writer trying to drink himself to death.

What about....

As Good As It Gets?

[john_rambo]

I'm still waiting for the prison epic "Don't Drop the Soap"

[EVILxxx]

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.

A valuable lesson indeed.

[SkyNet]

Never Back Down was originally called Get Some... still a terrible title

[marcia brady]

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.

A valuable lesson indeed.

haha good one. Also 'Don't Look In The Basement'.

[The Postmaster General]

Get Rich Or Die Tryin

[LordSimen]

Atonement sounds as if it's title has something to do with the moral message. I haven't seen it yet, however.

[bigred760]

Atonement sounds as if it's title has something to do with the moral message. I haven't seen it yet, however.

It's more of a theme, than a message.

[Pirate Mike]

Wasn't the moral of Don't Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood to not be a menace in South Central while drinking your juice in the hood

[The Postmaster General]

Wasn't the moral of Don't Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood to not be a menace in South Central while drinking your juice in the hood

LMAO! I just came in here to recommend that same one. :D

[Sigur509]

Stay Alive?

[bigred760]

Life Stinks

[RustyRazor]

Never Back Down was originally called Get Some... still a terrible title

Please tell me your kidding.
The day that "Get Some" is the title of a non porno movie is the day that the film industry is D.O.A.

[rocknblues81]

The Pursuit of Happyness?

[MISFITS_Fiend]

Not really a movie, but a trailer in Grindhouse...

"Don't."

It doesn't get much simpler than that.