What's in a Name?

I know, I know, ‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’, but I think this really matters when it comes to books, film, and plays, and the box office gurus would appear to agree.

Would Bladerunner have achieved the same box office success if it were called after the book on which it was based, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Apocalypse Now is a funkier title than Heart of Darkness, and I had a friend who once saw Miss Saigon and said it reminded them a bit of Madame Butterfly.

There are plenty of examples of adaptations of Shakespeare plays being given different names: My Own Private Idaho (Henry IV, Part I); 10 Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew); Prospero’s Books (The Tempest); The Lion King (Hamlet); She’s the Man (Twelfth Night); A Thousand Acres (King Lear) to name but six recent examples.

As a film, Schindler's Ark was renamed Schindler's List, for no apparent reason other than to annoy lift engineers everywhere who work for Schindler (yes, they have heard the ‘joke’ before). I saw Leon in France and spent ages wondering why none of my friends in England had heard of it, until I realised it was released there under the title of The Professional and was also called The Cleaner.

Last month I went to see a production of the user-unfriendly-named On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as her Young Lover at Downstage Theatre. I have seen this ludicrously long (and deliberately precise) title abbreviated to OTCAPOHCTMAHYL, which I originally thought was some new variety of wonder drug. Anyway, it was a good play and you can read my review on Lumiere.

So, what are your thoughts on the best or worst titles changes or abbreviations of books to films or films or plays that are released under different titles in different places?