Famous Movies' French Titles

Question 1

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Twilight

Answer 1

La Fascination

The noun fascination carries several meanings in French, including “infatuation.” Note that the Twilight series was also called Twilight in France, but that the first film in the franchise was called La Fascination.

Question 2

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Princess Bride

Answer 2

The Princess Bride

In France, the title remained the same. In Quebec, however, it became La Princesse Bouton d’or, which literally means “The Golden Button Princess.” In French, Bouton d’or both refers to a yellow-gold color and to a flower of this color.

Question 3

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Star Wars

Answer 3

La Guerre des étoiles

Question 4

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Back to the Future

Answer 4

Retour vers le futur

Question 5

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Meet the Parents

Answer 5

Mon beau-père et moi

Recall that the French word beau-père means “father-in-law.” In French Canada, the film’s title was translated to La belle-famille.

Question 6

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Jaws

Answer 6

Les Dents de la mer

A rather significant departure from the original English title, the French title for the film Jaws translates as “Teeth of the Sea.”

Question 7

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Home Alone

Answer 7

Maman, j’ai raté l’avion

In English, the French title for Home Alone means “Mommy, I missed the plane,” which, of course, refers to the problem at the heart of the film.

Question 8

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Life of Pi

Answer 8

L’Odysée de Pi

Question 9

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Airplane!

Answer 9

Y a-t-il un pilote dans l’avion?

Unlike their English equivalents, French movie titles are very often complete sentences. Thus, Airplane translated into French as “Is there a pilot on the plane?”

Question 10

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Bridesmaids

Answer 10

Mes meilleures amies

In Quebec, the movie title was translated more literally: Demoiselles d’honneur.

Question 11

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Saving Private Ryan

Answer 11

Il faut sauver le soldat Ryan

Question 12

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Ghostbusters

Answer 12

S.O.S Fantômes

Question 13

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Answer 13

Les Aventuriers de l’arche perdue

Question 14

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

It’s a Wonderful Life

Answer 14

La vie est belle

Question 15

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Toy Story

Answer 15

Toy Story

In Quebec the movie was called Histoire de jouets.

Question 16

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Slumdog Millionaire

Answer 16

Slumdog Millionaire

Although the title to this film remained unchanged in France, it was changed in Quebec to Le Pouilleux millionnaire. Pouilleux can be used as both an adjective or a noun to describe a person in extreme poverty, roughly meaning “bum” or “hobo.”

Question 17

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Answer 17

Harry Potter à l’école des sorciers

Question 18

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Scary Movie

Answer 18

Scary Movie

In Quebec the film was called Film de peur.

Question 19

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

When Harry Met Sally

Answer 19

Quand Harry rencontre Sally

Question 20

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Sleepless in Seattle

Answer 20

Nuits blanches à Seattle

The French term nuit blanche is used to refer to a “sleepless night.” In Quebec the movie was called La Magie du destin.

Question 21

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Roman Holiday

Answer 21

Vacances romaines

Question 22

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Wizard of Oz

Answer 22

Le Magicien d’Oz

Question 23

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Groundhog Day

Answer 23

Un Jour sans fin

Question 24

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

2001: A Space Odyssey

Answer 24

2001, L’Odyssée de l’espace

Question 25

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

A Clockwork Orange

Answer 25

Orange mécanique

Note that the French word mécanique can be used as a noun and as an adjective, meaning both “mechanism” and “mechanical.” As a noun, mécanique also refers to the study of “mechanics.”

Question 26

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Godfather

Answer 26

Le Parrain

In addition to meaning “godfather,” parrain can also more broadly mean “sponsor” or “supporter.” It is derived from the French verb parrainer, meaning “to sponsor.”

Question 27

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Goodfellas

Answer 27

Les Affranchis

The adjective affranchi literally means “freed” or “unfettered” and can be used in French to refer to someone who acts without regard to norms or expectations. It comes from the verb affranchir which means “to free” or “to liberate.”

Question 28

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Twelve Angry Men

Answer 28

Douze hommes en colère

Question 29

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Answer 29

Du silence et des ombres

Question 30

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Gone with the Wind

Answer 30

Autant en emporte le vent

Autant en emporte le vent literally means “as much as the wind carries away.”

Question 31

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Schindler’s List

Answer 31

La Liste de Schindler

Question 32

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Psycho

Answer 32

Psychose

While the English title Psycho refers to a troubled individual, the French title Psychose refers instead to the troubled mental state itself, roughly meaning “psychosis” or “hysteria” in English.

Question 33

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Some Like it Hot

Answer 33

Certains l’aiment chaud

Question 34

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Grapes of Wrath

Answer 34

Les Raisins de la colère

Question 35

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Answer 35

Vol au-dessus d’un nid de coucou

The translation of this movie title into French is rather literal. The French noun nid means “nest,” and coucou refers to both the cuckoo bird and to the cuckoo clock. Note that coucou is also a colloquial French expression roughly meaning “Hey!” or “Hi there!”

Question 36

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Answer 36

Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï

Question 37

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Sophie’s Choice

Answer 37

Le Choix de Sophie

Question 38

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Answer 38

Butch Cassidy et le Kid

Question 39

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Sound of Music

Answer 39

La Mélodie du bonheur

Question 40

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Answer 40

Rencontres du troisième type

Question 41

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Silence of the Lambs

Answer 41

Le Silence des Agneaux

Question 42

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Amélie

Answer 42

Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain

The French noun destin can take several different translations in English, including “destiny,” “fortune,” and “prospect.” The phrase le fabuleux destin de is often translated as “the wonderful life of.”

Question 43

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Brokeback Mountain

Answer 43

Le Secret de Brokeback Mountain

Question 44

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Die Hard

Answer 44

Piège de cristal

The title of Die Hard in French has nothing to do with the movie’s English title. Piège de cristal literally means “crystal trap.” However, note that the Die Hard franchise as a whole is referred to in French as Die Hard.

Question 45

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

No Country for Old Men

Answer 45

Non, ce pays n’est pas pour le vieil homme

Question 46

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Men in Black

Answer 46

Men in Black

Note that the film was called Hommes en noir in Quebec.

Question 47

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

Inception

Answer 47

Inception

The film was called Origine in Quebec.

Question 48

Provide the French movie title of the following film:

The Shawshank Redeption

Answer 48

Les Évadés

The French word évadé refers to an “escapee” or, more specifically, to an “escaped prisoner.” Évadé is the past participle of the reflexive verb s’évader, which means “to get away” or “to slip out.”