Why do some movie titles include an alternate title?

Why do some movie titles include an alternate title? - Assorted-title Movie Case Lot

"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

"Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

Why do some movie titles include an alternate title? What are the rules in constructing these titles?



Best Answer

You could also use the term Subtitle (titling).

Generally, subtitle is given to a movie title to provide a hint or a little more information of the movie to the moviegoers.

Wiki says,

In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. In library cataloging the subtitle does not include an alternate title which is defined as part of the title proper; e.g. "One Good Turn" (title proper) "A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw" (subtitle); "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" (title proper).




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How To Use Film Titles Creatively




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