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.
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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
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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,
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