The Foreign Subtitle

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The habit of combining one- or two-word titles with a subtitle for foreign release so the public will have a better idea what the work is about. It's a way to give people who haven't heard about the original work an idea of the premise without making it unknown to the people who do know the original work by name. Sometimes the subtitle is a direct translation of the original title (if it is kept in the original language), making the name redundant, or it may be something that explains the plot.

Usually a case of Woolseyism or Macekre and a case of foreign Colon Cancer. See also Completely Different Title.

Examples of The Foreign Subtitle include:

From English to Czech

From English to Danish

  • Alien: Den 8. passager ("The Eighth Passenger"; you'll see most translations added this subtitle)
  • Superman II: På Nye Eventyr ("[On] new adventures")

From English to Finnish

  • Pulp Fiction: Tarinoita väkivallasta ("Stories about violence")

From English to French

Note: Most, if not all these examples, apply only to titles translated in France. In Quebec and other French-speaking parts of Canada, the title is usually completely translated or left completely untouched.

  • Alien, Le huitième passager (The Eighth Passenger)
  • Cars: Quatre Roues (Four Wheels) (France)
  • The Dark Knight: Le Chevalier Noir
  • FX, Effets de choc (Shocking (special) Effects)
  • Grey's Anatomy: À cœur ouvert (Open-Heart, in the surgery sense).
  • Masked Rider: Le Justicier de l'espace (The Hero of Space)
  • NCIS: Enquêtes spéciales (Special investigations)
  • The Patriot: Le chemin vers la liberté (The path towards freedom)
  • Thunderbirds: Les Sentinelles de l'Air (The Guardians Of The Sky). This is the live action film. The TV series itself was called Les Sentinelles de l'Air in French, so the subtitle was added to unite the English and French titles of the franchise.
  • Wanted: Choisis ton destin (Choose your destiny')
  • The X-Files: Aux frontières du réel (At the Borders of Reality). Here again, to tie with the series's French title.

From English to German

  • Alien – Das unheimliche Wesen aus einer fremden Welt (The sinister creature from a foreign world)
  • The Crow - Die Kraehe (The crow)
  • The Da Vinci Code - Sakrileg (sacrilege). Sakrileg is the German title of the novel, and apparently when the movie came out, they wanted to make sure that the people know which (best-selling) book it is the film of.
  • DuckTales (1987): Neues aus Entenhausen (News from Duckburg)
  • Superman II - Allein gegen alle (Alone against all)
  • Superman III - Der stahlerne Blitz (The iron thunderbolt)
  • Mean Girls – Girls Club - vorsicht, bissig! (dangerous, bites). Yes they invented a new, English title. They do this a lot. Don't ask.
  • The Village - Das Dorf (a word-on-word translation, making the thing completely idiotic since most Germans know what 'village' means.)
  • Everything on this list.

From English to Hungarian

From English to Italian

  • Cars: Motori ruggenti (Roaring Engines)
  • Cold Case: Delitti irrisolti (Unsolved crimes)
  • ER: Medici In Prima Linea (Physicians Ready For Action)
  • Scrubs: Medici Ai Primi Ferri (Barely Physicians, ferri meaning surgical tools)
  • Nightmare: Dal profondo della notte (From the depths of the night)
  • Ghost Whisperer: Presenze (Presences)
  • JAG (TV series): Avvocati in divisa (Lawyers in uniform)
  • Masked Rider: Il Cavaliere Mascherato (The Masked Knight)
  • NCIS: Unità anticrimine (Crime fighting unit)
  • Ocean's Eleven: Fate il vostro gioco (Make Your Play)
  • Full Monty: Squattrinati organizzati (Pennyless but organized)
  • Ghost: Fantasma
  • Candyman: Terrore dietro lo specchio (Terror behind the mirror)
  • 17 Again: Ritorno al liceo (Back to high school)
  • The Addiction: Vampiri a New York (Vampires in New York)
  • All You've Got : Unite per la vittoria ([females] United for victory)
  • Halloween: La Notte Delle Streghe (Night Of Witches)
  • The Hitcher: La Lunga Strada Della Paura (The Long Road Of Fear)
  • Carrie: Lo Sguardo Di Satana (Satan's Look)
  • Leverage: Consulenze Illegali (Illegal Consulences)
  • Deja Vu: Corsa contro il tempo (Race against time) (the 2006 film with Denzel Washington)
  • The Departed: il bene e il male (Good and evil)
  • Hitch: Lui sì che capisce le donne (He really understands women)
  • SuXBad: Tre menti sopra il pelo (Three minds on a hair", pun over the Italian romantic movie "Tre metri sopra il cielo")
  • Cool Runnings: Quattro sotto zero (Four below zero, a pun on temperature and the four members of the Jamaican bobsled team)
  • Sister Act: Una svitata in abito da suora (A nutty woman dressed as a nun)
  • White Collar: Fascino Criminale (Criminal Charm, a pun on the fact that Neal is really hot and the fact that he uses such charm to get things done his way)
  • Epic Mickey: La Leggendaria Sfida di Topolino (The Legendary Challenge of Mickey Mouse)
  • Die Hard 3: Hard to Kill

From English to Japanese

From English to Norwegian

  • Alien: Den åttende passasjer (The eighth passenger)
  • Enchanted: Eventyr i New York (Fairytale in New York)

From English to Portuguese

  • Alien, o Oitavo Passageiro (The Eighth Passenger)
  • Alien S: O Resgate (The Rescue)
  • Blade, O Caçador de Vampiros (The Vampire Hunter)
  • Blade Runner: O Caçador de Andróides (The Android Hunter)
  • Blowup: Depois Daquele Beijo (After That Kiss) (Brazil)
  • Cloverfield: Monstro (Monster) (Brazil); Portugal inverts the trope: Nome de Código: Cloverfield (Codename: Cloverfield).
  • Cobra: O Braço Forte da Lei(Portugal) In Brazil it's a weird case: Stallone Cobra (blame it on the poster).
  • Con Air - Fortaleza Voadora (Aerial Fortress) (Portugal)
  • Con Air: A Rota da Fuga (The Escape Route) (Brazil)
  • DuckTales (1987): Os Caçadores de Aventuras (The Hunters of Adventures) (Brazil)
  • Dungeons and Dragons: A Aventura Começa Agora (The Adventure Begins Now)
  • FX: Assassinato Sem Morte (Murder without Death)
  • Forrest Gump': O Contador de Histórias (The Story Teller)
  • Ghost: Do Outro Lado da Vida (From the Other Side of Life)
  • Hairspray: Em Busca da Fama (Seeking Fame)
  • Karate Kid: A Hora da Verdade (The Moment of Truth)
  • Karate Kid II: A Hora da Verdade Continua (The Moment of Truth Continues)
  • Kick Ass: Quebrando Tudo (Breaking It All)
  • Predator 2: A Caçada Continua (The Hunt Goes On)
  • Pulp Fiction: Tempo de Violência (Time of Violence)
  • Resident Evil: O Hóspede Maldito ("The Cursed/Damned Guest")
  • Rocky, Um Lutador (A Fighter)
  • Rocky II: A Revanche (The Rematch)
  • Rocky III: O Desafio Supremo (The Supreme Challenge)
  • A Serbian Film: Terror Sem Limites (Limitless Horror)
  • Space Jam: O Jogo do Século (Game of the Century) (Brazil)
  • Superman II: A Aventura Continua (The Adventure Goes On)
  • The Commitments': Loucos Pela Fama (Crazy About Fame)
  • The Incredibles - Os Super-Heróis (Portugal)
  • Top Gun: Ases Indomáveis (Indomitable Aces) (Brazil)
  • Toy Story: Os Rivais (Portugal)
  • Toy Story: Um Mundo de Aventuras (A World of Adventures) (Brazil)
  • Toy Story 2: Em busca de Woody (The Search for Woody) (Portugal)
  • Up: Altamente! (Awesome!) (Portugal)
  • Up: Altas Aventuras (High Adventures) (Brazil)

From English to Spanish

  • Quiz Show: El dilema ("The Dilemma")
  • Serenity: Furia imparable ("Unstoppable Fury")
  • Alma de héroes: la leyenda de Seabiscuit ("Heroic Soul: the Legend of Seabiscuit")
  • Adaptation: El ladrón de orquídeas ("The Orchid Thief")
  • Alien, el octavo pasajero ("The Eighth Passenger")
  • Aliens: El regreso ("The Return")
  • Antwone Fisher: El triunfo del espíritu ("The Spirit's Triumph")
  • Arlington Road: Temerás a tu vecino ("You Will Fear Your Neighbor")
  • Boogieman: La puerta del miedo ("The Door of Fright")
  • Cloverfield: Monstruoso ("Monstruous")
  • Encantada: La historia de Giselle ("Enchanted: Giselle's Tale")
  • Kill Bill: La vengaza (The Revenge)
  • Watchmen: Los vigilantes ("The Watchmen")
  • Resident Evil: El huésped maldito ("The Cursed Guest")
  • Terminator: El exterminador
  • Top Gun: Pasión y gloria ("Passion and Glory")
  • Poltergeist: Juegos diabólicos ("Devilish Games")
  • Superman II: La aventura continua ("The Adventure Continues")
  • ThunderCats: Los felinos cósmicos ("Cosmic Cats")
  • Up : Una aventura de altura ("A High Adventure")
  • L.A. Law: Se hará justicia ("Justice will be Served")
  • Kick-Ass: Un superheroe sin superpoderes ("A superhero without superpowers")
  • Sunshine: Alerta solar ("Solar Alert")
  • Game of Thrones: Ganas o Mueres ("You Win or You Die")
  • Battleship: Batalla Naval ("Naval Battle")
  • Sucker Punch: Mundo Surreal (Surreal World)
  • Recess: The Animated Series

From English to Swedish

From German to English

  • Das Boot: The Boat
  • Inverted in M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (M: A City Looks for a Murderer)

From Japanese to Chinese

From Japanese to English

From Japanese to French

From Japanese to Hungarian

From Japanese to Italian

  • What's My Destiny: Dragon Ball (Z) (At least initially, it later became better known by its original title.)

From Japanese to Russian

From Japanese to Spanish

From Japanese to Swedish

From Indonesian to English

From Korean to Spanish

  • Taekwon V: Mision Espacial (Mission on Space)

From English to English?

  • Tangled: Was released under its originally planned title of Rapunzel in certain countries. However, for some reason, Disney felt the urge to add a subtitle and Title Drop the changed title in those releases. Thus, Tangled is known as Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale in those countries.
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