Famous Movies' French Titles Flashcards
This deck highlights the varying degrees to which major film titles have been translated in Francophone countries.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Twilight
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
The Princess Bride
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Star Wars
La Guerre des étoiles
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Back to the Future
Retour vers le futur
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Meet the Parents
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Jaws
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.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Home Alone
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
The Life of Pi
L’Odysée de Pi
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Airplane!
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?”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Bridesmaids
Mes meilleures amies
In Quebec, the movie title was translated more literally: Demoiselles d’honneur.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Saving Private Ryan
Il faut sauver le soldat Ryan
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Ghostbusters
S.O.S Fantômes
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Raiders of the Lost Ark
Les Aventuriers de l’arche perdue
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It’s a Wonderful Life
La vie est belle
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Toy Story
Toy Story
In Quebec the movie was called Histoire de jouets.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Slumdog Millionaire
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.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter à l’école des sorciers
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Scary Movie
Scary Movie
In Quebec the film was called Film de peur.
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When Harry Met Sally
Quand Harry rencontre Sally
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Sleepless in Seattle
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Roman Holiday
Vacances romaines
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The Wizard of Oz
Le Magicien d’Oz
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Groundhog Day
Un Jour sans fin
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2001: A Space Odyssey
2001, L’Odyssée de l’espace
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A Clockwork Orange
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.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
The Godfather
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.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Goodfellas
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.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Twelve Angry Men
Douze hommes en colère
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Du silence et des ombres
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Gone with the Wind
Autant en emporte le vent
Autant en emporte le vent literally means “as much as the wind carries away.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Schindler’s List
La Liste de Schindler
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Psycho
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Some Like it Hot
Certains l’aiment chaud
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The Grapes of Wrath
Les Raisins de la colère
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
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!”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Sophie’s Choice
Le Choix de Sophie
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Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy et le Kid
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
The Sound of Music
La Mélodie du bonheur
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Rencontres du troisième type
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The Silence of the Lambs
Le Silence des Agneaux
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Amélie
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.”
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Brokeback Mountain
Le Secret de Brokeback Mountain
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
Die Hard
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.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
No Country for Old Men
Non, ce pays n’est pas pour le vieil homme
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Men in Black
Men in Black
Note that the film was called Hommes en noir in Quebec.
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Inception
Inception
The film was called Origine in Quebec.
Provide the French movie title of the following film:
The Shawshank Redeption
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.”
