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Re: The Hunchback
Posted By: Sam, on host 24.128.86.11
Date: Saturday, April 28, 2001, at 07:06:15
In Reply To: Re: The Hunchback posted by gabby on Friday, April 27, 2001, at 21:17:34:

> > Titles affect audience expectation but, except in cases so rare I can only think of one, do not impact a movie's overall worth.
>
> Come now, you can't do that. Which movie?

"FairyTale: A True Story," which isn't. No critics or reporters or columnists I read back when that came out could come up with a valid reason why the title is an outright lie. Giving the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt, I would hazard to guess that initially there WAS some kind of aesthetic or artistic motive behind that choice of title ("Fargo" says "based on a true story" in the beginning and "all characters/events are fictitious..." at the end, and to great effect), but the failure was so complete that its purpose cannot seem to be divined after the fact. The title is patronizing and a betrayal of the audience's good faith. Which is not to say even that movie lives or dies by its title, but this is the first title I've ever seen whose sphere of influence extends significantly beyond mere audience expectation.