It’s not easy to give a name to a movie. The title must be attractive and arouse curiosity and, at the same time, depict something from the movie, whether we’re talking about a character, a place or a situation. So choosing the way others already have “traveled” seems pretty motivated. Often there is no connection between the film and music that lends the title, but one thing is certain: it is not a coincidence. We found ten movies which have titles inspired from ten famous songs.
1. Jumpin Jack Flash
The 1986 comedy starring Whoopy Golberg has the same name as the song written by The Rolling Stones in 1968. Of course is no coincidence, because the song appears in the film in two versions, the original and the remake done by Aretha Franklin.
2. This Must Be the Place
The title of the film directed by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino starring Sean Penn is inspired by a song from Talking Heads. The lead singer even appears in the film. The song also appears-in soundtrack. Sean Penn plays Cheyenne, a retired rock star living off his royalties in Dublin, who returns to New York City to find the man responsible for humiliation his deceased father during WWII.
3. Pretty woman
The 1990 romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere has the same name as the famous song by Roy Orbison in 1964. “Pretty woman, walking down the street, pretty woman, the kind I like to meet”… catchy, isn’t it?
4. Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 romantic comedy with Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey and also a rock song from Lynyrd Skynyrd released on their second album, the Second Helping, in 1974. You’re going to see Reese Witherspoon play a young woman with a Southern background who runs away from her husband in Alabama and reinvents herself as a New York socialite.
5. Boys do not cry
The incredible song by The Cure from 1980 is also the name of a fairly successful independent film with Hilary Swank playing the role of Brandon Teena, a transgendered teen who preferred life in a male identity until it was discovered he was born biologically female. The role earned her an Oscar for her interpretation. The movie also received numerous awards and nominations and 14 year later, Hilary Swank is still mostly identified by that incredible performance.
6. Stand by me
Ben E. King’s song from 1961 had dozens of artistic interpretations from famous artists such as John Lennon, Otis Redding, Jimmy Hendrix, U2, Usher, Elton John, but only one film was named after it: the drama about inspired by a Stephen King novel, directed by Rob Reiner in 1986. The plot goes something like this: ffter the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing boy.
7. Boogie Nights
The film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson is a sort of chronicle about the world of pornography in the ‘70s and ‘80s, with actors like Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore and Heather Graham. The name of the film is inspired by a song performed by the funk band Heatwave in 1976.
8. Addicted to love
In 1986 Robert Palmer pulled out a song that quickly became a hit. Unfortunately, the romantic from 1997 whose title is inspired by Palmer’s song never had the same success. The film stars Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick who realize they love each other while stalking their ex partners. Stalking, bringing people together since 1997.
9. Tequila sunrise
We have a song, a movie and a cocktail. The song played by The Eagles in 1973 inspired a famous action movie with Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell made 15 years later, in 1988. Even today, fans still remember Mel Gibson for his performance in Tequila Sunrise.
10. Bad Boys
The song from the band Inner Circle was recorded in 1986, but became famous for the 1995 with the release of an action movie with the same name. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence play a two cool cops who have to protect a witness and investigate a complicated case at the same time.
Do you know any other movies that were named after a song?
Leave a Reply