Top 20 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Famous Movies
Heeeeeeere's Jimmy! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 20 popular movie myths and misconceptions, whether moments within the films or merely related to them.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 - He told me you killed him. - No. I am your father.
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 popular movie myths and misconceptions,
00:12 whether moments within the films or merely related to them.
00:15 I'll never let go.
00:16 Number 20. A person died looking for the money. Fargo.
00:21 What Shep told us didn't make a whole lot of sense.
00:24 Oh no, it's real sound. It's all worked out.
00:28 You want your own wife kidnapped.
00:30 Yeah.
00:31 The film Fargo is a darkly comedic caper involving a substantial amount of ransom money.
00:36 In one scene, Steve Buscemi's character stashes the cash on the side of a road in the snow.
00:41 The money remains unfound by the film's end.
00:43 I just don't understand it.
00:48 A few years after the film debuted, a Japanese woman named Takako Konishi was found dead in Minnesota after passing through Fargo.
00:57 Some incorrect reporting at the time of her death led to the false claim and later urban legend
01:01 that she died searching for the hidden money in the mistaken belief that it was real.
01:05 This myth even gave rise to a film of its own called Kumiko, the treasure hunter.
01:10 I discovered treasure right here.
01:14 Number 19. A death in the chariot race. Ben-Hur.
01:18 The climactic chariot race is a major centerpiece of this legendary religious epic.
01:22 [Music]
01:31 In it, Judah Ben-Hur races against his childhood friend turned foe, Masala.
01:36 Ben-Hur triumphs after Masala's attempt to kill him backfires.
01:39 For years, rumors persisted that the stuntman for Masala actually died during the filming of the sequence,
01:45 and that the death can be seen in the finished film.
01:47 [Screaming]
01:52 However, no one involved with the film has ever mentioned any accident during the making of the scene.
01:57 These sorts of myths around race scenes are fairly common,
02:00 but as one of the most famous in cinema history, the one from Ben-Hur has been particularly persistent.
02:06 [Screaming]
02:14 Number 18. The final match's outcome. Rocky.
02:18 Given that it's one of the most popular sports movies ever made,
02:21 you'd think everyone would know the story of Rocky.
02:23 [Music]
02:26 But arguably, the most crucial part of the first film in this storied franchise has a major misconception about it,
02:32 because Rocky actually loses.
02:34 Plenty of people assume that Rocky Balboa wins his match against Apollo Creed.
02:38 [Commentator] "And there's the bell for round one, the most criticized fight of the ages.
02:42 The fighters come out, come in at the center of the ring, looking at each other.
02:45 Rocky does looking."
02:46 And while Rocky does give Apollo one incredible fight over 15 rounds,
02:50 Creed is ultimately declared the victor by split decision.
02:53 Perhaps this myth has remained because Rocky's story is an underdog story.
02:58 "Here it's chaos. Rocky, you went the distance, you went the 15 rounds, how do you feel?"
03:01 "Good."
03:02 "What are you thinking about when that buzzer sounds?"
03:04 "I'm angry!"
03:05 So many other underdog stories result in the plucky up-and-comers triumphing despite the odds.
03:10 And while Rocky does succeed in proving himself, he doesn't technically win.
03:15 [Grunts]
03:17 "Apollo can't believe it!"
03:19 [Grunts]
03:20 Number 17.
03:21 "Gremlins After Midnight"
03:23 Gremlins.
03:24 Everybody knows the rules with gremlins, right?
03:26 "Ready? One, two, three."
03:30 [Gremlin screeches]
03:31 "Right, right, right, right!"
03:33 Don't put them in light, don't get them wet, and don't feed them after midnight.
03:37 Well, not really.
03:38 Despite gremlins being the name of the film,
03:40 these famous rules are for the Furby-like Mogwai.
03:43 Feeding these adorable creatures after midnight is what turns them into gremlins in the first place.
03:47 "It's a real gremlin, Mikey!"
03:49 [Gremlin screeches]
03:51 [Gremlin laughs]
03:53 However, for people who only know the movie through pop culture or who only saw it once,
03:58 the name Mogwai just doesn't have the same name recognition,
04:01 which is probably how this misunderstanding came about.
04:04 "Bye, bye!"
04:06 [Gremlin growls]
04:08 [Gremlin growls]
04:10 [Gremlin growls]
04:12 [Gremlin laughs]
04:13 Number 16. Edna's Inspiration - The Incredibles
04:17 This animated superhero film is loaded with fun characters,
04:20 but superhero fashion designer Edna Mode is a fan favorite.
04:24 "It will be bold, dramatic, heroic."
04:28 "Yeah, something classic, like Dinah Guy. Oh, he had a great look."
04:34 The diminutive diva walks all over everyone else
04:37 and has some of the most quotable lines in the movie.
04:40 "I used to design for gods."
04:42 Many viewers have long believed that Edna is based on Oscar-winning costume designer Edith Head,
04:49 given their similar hairstyles and glasses.
04:51 However, according to director Brad Bird himself, Edna Mode is not based on anyone in particular.
04:57 She's her own thing.
04:58 Like Edna's many creations, her design feels familiar, but she's still wholly unique, darling.
05:04 "There it is. The room is yours. They are lucky to be in your presence."
05:09 "Now the turn. Yes, you are a tiny god."
05:13 Number 15. Jack Could Have Fit - Titanic
05:18 "I'm the king of the world!"
05:23 Everyone's probably had this argument.
05:25 The end of Titanic sees Jack and Rose in the water with Jack floating on a door.
05:29 Well, actually, it's an elaborate door frame, not a door.
05:32 But the point is this.
05:34 A lot of us have angrily believed that Jack could have survived if Rose had just moved over.
05:38 "I'll never let go. I promise."
05:41 However, as seen in the film and in several recreations after its debut,
05:47 two people on wreckage at the same time would have capsized it instead.
05:51 Now, if they had just traded off with each other, that's a different story.
05:55 Number 14. Singing in the Milk - Singing in the Rain
05:59 As one of the most acclaimed films of all time,
06:01 Singing in the Rain has had plenty of rumors about it bandied about over the years.
06:05 "I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain.
06:12 What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again."
06:18 One of the most bizarre is about the legendary sequence with the eponymous song.
06:24 While Gene Kelly is, well, singing in the rain,
06:26 one myth goes that the "rain" on set was actually milk.
06:30 The theory goes that milk was used to make it show up better on camera,
06:33 given that technicolor was relatively new.
06:35 However, Kelly's widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, has flatly denied this absurd idea.
06:47 Plus, it's not like Singing in the Rain was the only movie to have rain on film.
06:50 "It wasn't over. It still isn't over."
06:55 Number 13. Do You Feel Lucky? Punk - Dirty Harry
07:03 Clint Eastwood has made a career of playing grizzled badasses.
07:06 "Every gun makes its own tune."
07:08 One of his most famous roles is as the titular not-so-clean cop, Dirty Harry Callahan.
07:14 When Harry confronts various criminals within the film, he utters the immortal signature line,
07:19 "Do you feel lucky, punk?" Or at least, that's how just about everyone misquotes his line.
07:24 His actual line is far more involved and comes at the tail end of a speech.
07:28 "You've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky?
07:32 Well, do ya, punk?"
07:33 While parts of this misquote are in the two questions he asks the criminals,
07:39 the exact wording most people use is merely paraphrasing the actual quote.
07:44 So, you've got to ask yourself one question. Do you misquote it? Well, do ya, punk?
07:49 "Now you have to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punks?"
08:02 12. George Lucas directed all three - The Star Wars Original Trilogy
08:07 Even if you're not a hardcore Star Wars fan, when you ask most people,
08:11 they'll tell you that George Lucas wrote and directed the original Star Wars trilogy.
08:15 Except he didn't. Well, not all of them. It's true that Lucas scripted and directed
08:26 the original 1977 classic that originally bore the franchise's name,
08:30 but he was not as fully in control with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
08:35 Lucas helped script the latter, but the screenplay for Empire was written by
08:39 Lee Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, and it was directed by Irvin Kershner. Meanwhile,
08:43 Kasdan helped write Jedi with Lucas, and it was directed by Richard Markrund.
08:47 The Star Wars universe was Lucas' overall vision, but he didn't do everything.
09:00 11. Background Ghost - Three Men and a Baby
09:03 "One of my favorite movies ever, Three Men and a Baby."
09:06 This 80s comedy features three guys roped into taking care of an infant girl dropped
09:10 on their doorstep. The birth father is one of them, Jack. "Whoa, these diapers are way too big.
09:16 What size did you get?" "They're ultra absorbent.
09:18 More absorbent the better, if you ask me." In a scene where Jack discusses his new daughter with
09:24 his mother, an urban legend claims that the figure of a ghost can be seen behind some curtains in
09:28 the background. However, the figure is merely a standee - a cardboard cutout of Jack, who is an
09:34 actor. The standee was largely cut from the final film, though you can still see it in a few shots.
09:40 Even co-star Tom Selleck has debunked the rumor,
09:42 and we don't want to refute a man with a mustache that impressive.
09:46 "I thought it was always like a poster, a full-size poster that had been knocked over.
09:51 Yeah. That was my theory. It actually is. It is a cardboard cutout of Ted Danson."
09:56 10. Brandon Lee's Death - The Crow
09:59 Brandon Lee was the star of The Crow, playing the protagonist Eric Draven,
10:09 and died during filming. During a scene that called for a gun to be fired,
10:12 a dummy bullet was left in the firearm and was not properly removed, as the gun specialist had
10:17 gone home. When the gun went off, Lee was shot for real and died later in the hospital. However,
10:23 despite popular belief, the take in which he was fatally wounded was not used in the final cut of
10:28 the film, and was in fact destroyed after being used in evidence in the investigation into the
10:33 accidental death. 9. Jason Voorhees is the Killer - Friday the 13th
10:50 Jason Voorhees is the famed killer of the Friday the 13th franchise, but he wasn't always.
10:55 In the first installment, it's actually Jason's mother Pamela that kills teenagers,
11:00 taking her revenge not only on the two camp counselors whose negligence led to
11:03 her son's apparent death, but also on counselors decades later too.
11:07 It wasn't until the second film that Jason himself became the primary antagonist,
11:16 and he didn't even acquire his iconic hockey mask until the third film. It just goes to show that
11:20 while a property can become associated with one thing, it's not always representative of the whole.
11:25 8. Sequel - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
11:34 It's a common misconception that the second film in the original Indiana Jones trilogy is a sequel.
11:42 After all, that's generally how trilogies work, with one following the next. However, like the
11:46 pulp adventure serials that inspired them, Indiana Jones doesn't follow a strict overarching narrative.
11:52 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is actually a prequel, taking place the year prior to Raiders
11:57 of the Lost Ark. Apparently, writer George Lucas didn't want Nazis to be the villains,
12:02 and made the film take place prior to Raiders to avoid the hero running into them twice in a row,
12:06 though the Third Reich would return in the third film.
12:09 7. Tim Burton Directed It - The Nightmare Before Christmas
12:15 Given that it's often titled Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas,
12:24 the general public can be forgiven for assuming that Burton was in the director's chair.
12:28 Given Burton's track record of whimsical yet creepy movies, it seems right up his alley.
12:32 While Burton did create the story and characters, and co-produced,
12:36 the screenplay and direction were handled by others.
12:38 Burton's name was likely attached for marketing reasons, since he did provide the seed of the
12:50 film's idea and was already a big name by that point, both in the industry and with cinema-goers.
12:55 The actual director, however, was Henry Selick,
12:58 who went on to direct James and the Giant Peach and Coraline.
13:02 Small world.
13:03 6. Shelved Because of Shame - The Day the Clown Cried
13:07 In the early 1970s, comedian, actor, and director Jerry Lewis directed and starred in a movie about
13:17 a clown imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II. Lewis was reportedly embarrassed with the end
13:22 result, which is often cited as the reason for the film's lack of release. However, in reality,
13:28 The Day the Clown Cried was tied up in legal issues once it was completed, with the rights
13:32 being retained by the screenwriter Joan O'Brien, which delayed and ultimately halted its release.
13:37 That being said, Lewis's embarrassment may have played a part in its continued lack of exposure.
13:42 In 2015, a copy was finally given to the Library of Congress, but even they cannot
13:47 screen it until 2024.
13:49 "Are we going to ever get to see The Day the Clown Cried?"
13:53 "No."
13:55 5. Sunglasses - Risky Business
13:58 The most famous scene from Risky Business has protagonist Joel Goodson,
14:02 played by Tom Cruise, celebrating his parents' free independence at home.
14:06 He dances around to Bob Seger's old-time rock and roll in nothing but his underwear,
14:16 a white shirt, and sunglasses. Or at least, that's the way every parody of the moment shows it.
14:21 In the original scene, Cruise wears a light pink shirt and has no sunglasses.
14:26 While he wears the sunglasses prominently in the poster and in other scenes in the film,
14:38 it's likely that his look outside of the scene is so iconic that everyone
14:42 misremembers Cruise wearing them in this one. Or it's a Mandela effect. But that's another list.
14:50 4. Bigger Boat - Jaws
14:52 This blockbuster is important and iconic in pretty much every way.
14:56 However, when it comes to quotes from the film, arguably the most famous one is also one of the
15:11 most frequently misquoted. In the famous scene, Martin Brody is throwing chum behind Quint's boat
15:17 and spots the massive shark they're hunting. Retreating into the cabin, he tells Quint,
15:21 However, most times the scene is referenced in other media, people say "We're gonna need a
15:29 bigger boat" or whatever else they need something bigger of. Sure, it has pretty much the same
15:34 meaning and effect, but it ain't a direct quote. 3. Hello Clarice - The Silence of the Lambs
15:43 A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
15:51 Since we're on a misquote streak, here's another imaginary line everyone thinks is real.
15:56 Over the years, whether in scripted pop culture references or just regular movie
16:00 fans having conversations, The Silence of the Lambs is misquoted. Hannibal Lecter is
16:05 remembered as saying "Hello Clarice" in his menacing greeting to FBI agent-in-training
16:09 Clarice Starling. However, although it's become iconic, it isn't accurate. Hannibal's greetings
16:16 to her in the film are limited to "A good morning" and "A good evening, Clarice." Sure,
16:22 he says the exact phrase to her in the sequel, but that was a decade later.
16:34 2. "Luke, I am your father" - Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
16:39 Back to the original trilogy. You'd think it'd be hard for people to get something so famous
16:51 so wrong, but if you search your feelings, you'll know it to be true. Despite being one of the most
16:55 oft-quoted lines in film history, the phrase "Luke, I am your father" is never actually said
17:01 by Darth Vader. The line is "No, I am your father." The misremembered line has, through
17:10 misquoting and paraphrasing in pop culture, become so prevalent that people mistakenly believe it's
17:15 actually present in The Empire Strikes Back. But like "Play it again, Sam" from Casablanca,
17:19 it isn't. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell
17:28 to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos
17:33 or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
17:38 1. "S.E.X. In the Sky" - The Lion King - The Lion King - The Lion King - The Lion King
17:50 Can you feel the love tonight? Midway through this Disney classic, Simba the Lion flops down
17:55 on a cliffside and knocks up a cloud of dust. When played back very slowly, the dust appears to form
18:00 the vague outline of the letters "S.E.X." Religious organizations have used this as an example of
18:06 Disney's apparent lack of morality, and the supposed message has been the subject of playground rumor
18:11 for decades. However, the generally accepted explanation is that the letters are actually "S.F.X."
18:17 a common abbreviation for "special effects," and were inserted by someone from that particular
18:22 department who worked on The Lion King. Is there a movie myth we were wrong for excluding?
18:31 Let us know in the comments. Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
18:41 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.