A body of films feature fictional films as part of their narrative. These are also called films within films.

List of films

Film Fictional film Year Description
A Movie Star Big Hearted Jack 1916 In the silent comedy film, Mack Swain stars as a fictitious movie star who attends one of his latest movie screenings at a local Nickelodeon. He attempts to sway the audience, and the attending critic, into liking the film. It was the world's first film to utilize the technique of featuring a film within a plot.[1]
Adaptation The Orchid Thief 2002 In the comedy drama film, one of the twin brother protagonists adapts the 1998 book The Orchid Thief into a film and draws the jealousy of his brother.[2][3]
The Artist A Russian Affair 2011 In the romantic comedy-drama film, Jean Dujardin is an actor who plays the hero in the film A Russian Affair in which he is rescued from a Russian villain by his dog.[4]
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne Be My Cat 2015 In the found footage horror movie, an aspiring Romanian filmmaker shoots a demo film to send to actress Anne Hathaway to convince her to star in his upcoming film. Moreover, the demo film is about the making of another fictional film.[5][6][7][8][9]
Berberian Sound Studio The Equestrian Vortex 2012 In the horror film, a sound engineer is tasked with working on the Foley effects for the never seen film.[2][10]
Big Fat Liar Big Fat Liar 2002 Marty Wolf, the main antagonist, produces a film under Wolf Pictures. This film however, plagiarises Jason Shepherd's English assignment. In the end, the film is released with Jason getting writing credits.[11]
Blow Out Coed Frenzy 1981 Jack Terry, played by John Travolta, works for a film production studio as a sound editor for cheap horror films, including the film.[12]
The Big Lebowski Logjammin' 1998 In the comedy film, the Dude watches a pornographic film with Maude and sees Bunny Lebowski starring in the film.[2][3][10]
Boogie Nights Brock Landers: Angels Live In My Town 1997 In the comedy-drama film, Mark Wahlberg plays a rising porn actor. In part of his acting career, the character stars as a cop in a series of pornographic action films, with the partner played by John C. Reilly.[4][13][2][3][10]
Bowfinger Chubby Rain 1999 In the comedy film, film producer Bobby Bowfinger, played by Steve Martin, aims to produce his dream science fiction thriller film Chubby Rain and uses shots of an unsuspecting person, played by Eddie Murphy for the film.[4][3]
Bowfinger Fake Purse Ninjas 1999 In the comedy film, characters played by Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy infiltrate a factory where Chinese ninjas counterfeit goods.[13][10][14]
Brief Encounter Flames of Passion 1945 A film Laura and Alec see at the theatre on one of their Thursday rendezvous. [15]
Broken City Kiss of Life 2013 In the crime film, a softcore romance film is featured, which The New Yorker's Richard Brody described, "flowery dialogue and poetic views of nature are followed by the actress's hot and naked sex scene with the sensitive leading man."[16]
Burn After Reading Coming Up Daisy 2008 The black comedy film features a film based on a chick lit book by Cormac McCarthy.[14]
Chicken Little Chicken Little: The True Story 2005 Action film recently released to theatres based on the events of the main movie.
Clerks Happy Scrappy Hero Pup, numerous pornographic films including The Best of Both Worlds 1994 A mother asks for Happy Scrappy Hero Pup at the video store for her daughter. Randal is on the phone with the distributor and after ordering a large number of pornographic movies, asks the mother the film's name again. Later on in the movie he goes to Big Choice Video and rents a hermaphroditic pornographic film entitled The Best of Both Worlds. [17]
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Lethal Agent III 2001 Mick Crocodile Dundee investigates the filming of a sequel to a box office bomb action film franchise, which is actually used as a cover up for smuggling several paintings looted during the Yugoslavian Civil Wars.
Contempt Odyssey 1963 The film follows a screenwriter's marriage to his wife disintegrating as they shoot the film Odyssey directed by Fritz Lang playing himself.
Day for Night Meet Pamela 1973 The film follows the lives of the cast and crew while they shoot the film Meet Pamela.[18]
Dirty Work Men In Black Who Like To Have Sex With Each Other 1998 In the comedy film, two cinema employees (Norm MacDonald and Artie Lange) get revenge on their manager by replacing a print of Men In Black with a pornographic parody when the corporate bosses arrive to inspect the theatre.
Entourage Hyde 2015 In the comedy film, Vincent Chase directs a film readaption of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and stars as its leading character, an EDM DJ.
The Exorcist Crash Course 1973 In the horror film, before the mother's daughter is possessed, the mother stars in a film about student activism.[19]
Evil Ed Loose Limbs 5 1997 In the horror comedy film, a newly hired film editor goes insane while editing the latest in a long running series of slasher films.
The Fabelmans Gunsmog, Escape to Nowhere 2022 The films within the film are fictionalized portrayals of the real-life amateur films Steven Spielberg made during his adolescence. Gunsmog is a western film that rips off John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Escape to Nowhere is an original war film set during World War II.[20]
For Your Consideration Home for Purim 2006 In the comedy film, the fictional film featured as a tribute to the Jewish holiday Purim. The studio executives in For Your Consideration change the film's title to Home for Thanksgiving to avoid isolating Gentile audiences.[13]
Funny People Re-Do 2009 In the comedy drama film, Adam Sandler plays a successful film actor who learns that he is dying of leukaemia and decides to revisit his stand up comedy career. One of the actor's featured films was the comedy Re-Do, which starred him as trapped inside an ordinary baby's body.[4][13]
Grindhouse Machete, Werewolf Women of the SS, Don't, Thanksgiving, Hobo with a Shotgun 2007 Fake trailers made for the film. Machete, Thanksgiving, and Hobo with a Shotgun were eventually made into real films.[21]
History of the World Part I History of the World Part II 1981 A trailer for a sequel to the title film that was never planned on being made.[22] A television series with that name premiered in 2023.
The Holiday Deception 2006 In the romantic comedy film, one of the main characters is a movie trailer producer. One of her featured works is the action film Deception starring James Franco and Lindsay Lohan in the film.[4]
Holy Motors Untitled monster movie 2012 In the fantasy film, the protagonist creates a motion capture performance with a female counterpart, which is later revealed to be two snakelike creatures.[2]
Home Alone Angels with Filthy Souls 1990 In the family comedy film, Kevin McCallister is accidentally left at home during Christmas when his family went to Paris without him. Kevin watches Angels with Filthy Souls (a parody of the film Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)) which his parents and his uncle forbade him to watch. He later uses the film to distract burglars that break into his home.[4][13][2][10][14]
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Angels with Even Filthier Souls 1992 In the family comedy sequel, Kevin McCallister watches the sequel to Angels with Filthy Souls. Home Alone 2's director studied 1930s and 1940s film noir to make Angels with Even Filthier Souls appear authentic.[23]
The Icicle Thief The Icicle Thief 1989 In the comedy film, an Italian neorealist black and white film is broadcast on television and repeatedly interrupted by full colour commercials. The television audience, watching in their homes, are completely oblivious of the interruptions even when a model from one of the commercials end up in the nested film's universe.[24]
I'm Thinking of Ending Things Untitled Robert Zemeckis movie 2020 An unnamed janitor is watching a corny film about a café waitress who gets fired after her boyfriend makes a scene while she's working. When the credits roll, Robert Zemeckis is credited as the director.[25]
Inglourious Basterds Stolz der Nation 2009 The war film features a Nazi propaganda film called Nation's Pride (German: Stolz der Nation) that is a key plot element in the film's climax.[4][14]
Invasion Force Untitled action movie 1990 This film's plot starts with the shooting of an unnamed action film. Additionally, as the film itself ends, it is revealed to be a film shooting of its own.[26]
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season, Bluntman and Chronic 2001 In the comedy film, the duo Jay and Silent Bob encounter the making of Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season, a satirical sequel to Good Will Hunting. The making of the sequel also featured the original film's director Gus Van Sant and its stars, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Bluntman and Chronic is a fictional movie based on Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards' comic from Chasing Amy, where Mark Hamill plays a villain named Cocknocker, and fights the titular characters. [4][13][3][10]
Jingle All the Way Turbo Man: The Motion Picture 1996 In the festive comedy film, whilst Arnold Schwarzenegger is driving all around toy stores around the area to find the doll of the fictional super hero Turbo Man, he is seen driving past the town's cinema showing Turbo Man: The Motion Picture on the day.
The Kentucky Fried Movie A Fistful of Yen 1977 In the comedy film, the spoof film combines elements of exploitation film, television commercials, pornography, and the martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973).[3]
Last Action Hero Hamlet / Jack Slater III & IV 1993 In the meta-action comedy film, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character is featured as playing both Hamlet and Jack Slater, the latter being a parody of the actor's own action-film characters[13][2][10]
Living in Oblivion Living in Oblivion 1995 In the independent black comedy film, Nick Reve (Steve Buscemi) is the director of the movie of the same name.
Matinee Mant! 1993 In the period comedy film, an independent filmmaker produces a creature feature called Mant! that shows the combination of a man and an ant.[4][13][2][10][14]
My Dinner with Andre Violets are Blue! 1981 About murders on a submarine.[27]
Mr. Bean's Holiday Playback Time 2007 A pretentious drama film by Carson Clay (Willem Dafoe) shown at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Notting Hill Helix 1999 In the romantic comedy, the actress played by Julia Roberts is in London to promote her new science fiction film Helix.[28]
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Operazione Dyne-O-Mite, Nebraska Jim, Tanner, Kill Me Quick Ringo, Said the Gringo, The 14 Fists of McCluskey 2019 In the period comedy film, Rick Dalton, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, moves to Italy to star in Spaghetti Westerns.[29]
Paris When It Sizzles The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower 1964 Richard Benson is writing a film and only has two days to finish it so he hires Gabrielle Simpson to type it for him.[30]
Planet Terror Machete 2007 Preceding the zombie film is a trailer for Machete that features Danny Trejo as a former Mexican federate who seeks revenge on those from both sides of the border who betrayed him. It was later made into a full length feature film, also called Machete. [2][14]
The Player Habeas Corpus 1992 In the comedy film, a depressing film about a woman on death row is pitched, and it eventually becomes produced but changed to have a feel good ending.[3][10][14]
Reboot Camp Sects Sell 2021 In the mockumentary comedy, the main characters are shooting a fictional documentary.
Scary Movie Amistad II 2000 In this horror parody film, Brenda Meeks and Ray Wilkins go to a theater to watch Shakespeare in Love. Before the start of the movie, a trailer for a fictional sequel to Amistad is shown.[31]
Schlock See You Next Wednesday 1973 John Landis’ first film includes two references and a poster for this fictional movie, which then turned into a running gag for most of his career and has been referenced in many other movies and television shows.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World You Just Don’t Exist 2010 In the comedy film, Scott Pilgrim confronts one of his girlfriend’s ex boyfriends, who is a skateboarder and actor producing the action film You Just Don’t Exist.[4]
Scream 2 Stab 1997 The slasher film Scream 2 features Stab, a film produced based on the events that took place in the first film Scream (1996).[4][3]
Sherlock Jr. Heart and Pearls 1924 In the silent comedy film, the protagonist dreams that he appears in a melodrama and solves the mystery as Sherlock Jr.[14]
The Simpsons Movie Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie 2007 There was an Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie movie on The Simpsons television show in an episode from November 1992, and at the beginning of The Simpsons Movie, the Simpsons are watching this or the possible sequel to the movie.[32]
Singin' in the Rain The Dueling Cavalier 1952 The musical film’s couple star in the musical film that ends in a modern day Broadway ballet.[14]
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Terrance and Phillip: Asses of Fire 1999 The musical comedy based on an obscene cartoon within the musical comedy based on an obscene cartoon serves as a self reflexive cautionary tale regarding censorship.[14]
Strange Brew The Mutants of 2051 AD 1983 In the comedy film, the fictional film is a post apocalyptic thriller that copies Mad Max 2.[14]
The Stunt Man Barbed Wire Frontier 1980 The film features a World War I film in which a British prisoner of war escapes a German camp.[14]
Sullivan's Travels O Brother, Where Art Thou? 1942 In the comedy film, the fictional film is a serious commentary on the working class that the protagonist intends to make after having made numerous lightweight comedies.[33]
This Is the End Pineapple Express 2: Blood Red 2013 In this apocalyptic comedy film, Seth Rogen and James Franco discussed a possible sequel to the Pineapple Express, where Red wants Dale and Saul to assassinate Woody Harrelson because he’s going to give a speech making weed legal ruining Red. The footage from the April Fools trailer was used in the film and was mentioned again when Franco plans to sacrifice himself. [34][35]
Three Amigos The Three Amigos, Dueling Cavelier, Shootin’ For Love, Little Neddy Grab Your Gun, Those Darn Amigos!, Little Neddy Goes to War, Amigos! Amigos! Amigos! 1986 In the comedy film, the three protagonists feature in a silent film called The Three Amigos that defies the conventions of films of its genre.[3] A rival actress Miss Rene (her character was deleted from the movie), is shown on a billboard in the film. The others are all movies some or all of the amigos starred in.[36]
Top Five Uprize! 2014 The film centers around the main character, an actor, trying to make the transition from silly comedy films to serious films that comment on society. The actor is frustrated that more people are not excited by or interested in the historical value of a film about the Haitian Revolution.[37]
Tropic Thunder Tropic Blunder 2008 The action comedy film features the production of a film based on a Vietnam War veteran’s memoir. The actors that are involved in the production are also shown to be in other fictional films, such as Ben Stiller in Simple Jack and Jack Black in The Fatties: Fart 2.[4][13][14] Another fictional film featured is Satan’s Alley with two gay priests at a medieval church.[10]
Trouble in Tahiti Trouble in Tahiti 2001 The 2001 TV film production of the Leonard Bernstein one act opera about an housewife in a failing marriage who seeks solace one afternoon by watching a technicolor movie musical about a WWII flier pilot who is lost from his squadron and downed in Tahiti where the chieftain intends to sacrifice him to a volcano deity. The film is a parody of South Pacific and also is reflective of Bernstein's own qualms with the film production of On the Town.[38][39]
UHF Gandhi II 1989 The comedy film features a sequel to Gandhi with Gandhi portrayed as tough and streetsmart.[14]
Variety Girl Romeow & Julicat 1947 A George Pal Puppetoon is a cartoon being sound and voice recorded in this movie.[40]
Who Framed Roger Rabbit Somethin’s Cookin’, Pistol Packin’ Possum, Babes in Arms, Herman’s Shermans, The Wet Nurse, The Little Injun That Could, Roger’s Baby Buggy Blunder 1988 Somethin’s Cookin' is a live action/animation hybrid features the filming of a theatrical short starring Baby Herman and Roger Rabbit. It parodies golden age cartoons such as Looney Tunes. The others were all seen on movie posters in R.K. Maroon's office.[41][42]

See also

References

  1. ^ A Movie Star (Short 1916) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-03-03
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wakefield, Dan (December 18, 2012). "10 Greatest Films Within Films". WhatCulture. What Culture Ltd. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Staff (August 11, 2008). "Top 10 Movies Within Movies". IGN. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jones, Emma (April 11, 2013). "Fictional films that should be made". MSN Entertainment. MSN. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  5. ^ "Discover the stomach-turning horrors of this Anne Hathaway baiting thriller". Little White Lies. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. ^ Whittaker, Richard (December 7, 2016). "Other Worlds Austin Review: Be My Cat: A Film for Anne". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. ^ Millican, Josh (7 August 2015). "Be My Cat: A Film for Anne (2015)". Dread Central. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  8. ^ "BE MY CAT: A FILM FOR ANNE". BE MY CAT: A FILM FOR ANNE. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. ^ Be My Cat: A Film for Anne, retrieved 18 November 2019
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Preston, Dominic (November 3, 2016). "10 movies-within-movies that they should have made in full, from Good Will Hunting 2 to Schwarzenegger's Hamlet". Digital Spy. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  11. ^ "Big Fat Liar". rottentomatoes.com. 8 February 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  12. ^ Canby, Vincent (24 July 1981). "TRAVOLTA STARS IN DEPALMA'S 'BLOW OUT' (Published 1981)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Staff. "Best films within films". ShortList. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Top 14 Fake Movies from Real Movies". amc.com. AMC Networks. November 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  15. ^ Yagoda, Ben (25 April 2021). "'Flames of Passion' in 'Brief Encounter'". Movies in Other Movies. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  16. ^ Brody, Richard (January 18, 2013). "'Broken City' and films within films". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  17. ^ "Clerks (1994)". IMDB. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  18. ^ Ebert, Roger (26 December 1997). "Day for Night". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  19. ^ Lyttle, John (April 11, 1994). "The horror that dare not come of age". The Independent. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  20. ^ "How 'The Fabelmans' Draws From Steven Spielberg's Life". Time. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  21. ^ "Every Fake Movie Trailer In Grindhouse". SCREENRANT. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  22. ^ Brooks, Mel (7 June 1981). "The World According to Mel Brooks". The New York Times. pp. D1, D15.
  23. ^ "Story Notes for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York". amc.com. AMC Networks. December 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  24. ^ "The Icicle Thief (1989)". Moria. 23 March 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  25. ^ Kohn, Eric (4 September 2020). "Charlie Kaufman's Guide to 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things': The Director Explains Its Mysteries". IndieWire. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Invasion Force (1990)". International Syndicate of Cult Film Critics. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  27. ^ Ebert, Roger (13 June 1999). "My Dinner with Andre movie review (1981)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Films Within Films: Helix". siskoid.blogspot.com. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  29. ^ Gonzalez, John (25 March 2020). "Ranking All of Rick Dalton's Movie Roles From 'Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood'". The Ringer. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  30. ^ "'Paris Sizzles' - The New York Times". The New York Times. 9 April 1964. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  31. ^ "20 Things You Didn't Know About Scary Movie: 3. Director Keenen Ivory Wayans Cameos In The Fake Trailer For Amistad II". WhatCulture. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  32. ^ Borrelli, Christopher (27 July 2007). "Movie review: The Simpsons Movie". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  33. ^ Orr, Christopher (September 17, 2014). "30 Years of Coens: O Brother, Where Art Thou?". theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. Retrieved June 28, 2020. The title is borrowed from the movie-within-a-movie that the protagonist of Sturges's masterwork, Sullivan's Travels, intends to make about the 'common man'—only to discover that the common man would much rather have him continue making lightweight comedies.
  34. ^ "PINEAPPLE EXPRESS 2 - Official Trailer - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  35. ^ "'This is the End' Reveals Faux 'Pineapple Express 2' Red Band Trailer | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  36. ^ "Internet Movie Database". IMDB. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  37. ^ Sepinwall, Alyssa Goldstein (March 2018). "Black Lives Matter in History Too: Slavery, Memory, and the Haitian Revolution in Chris Rock's Top Five". The Journal of American Culture. 41 (1): 5–16. doi:10.1111/jacc.12836.
  38. ^ "Trouble in Tahiti (2001)". Archived from the original on May 31, 2020.
  39. ^ "Works | Works | Leonard Bernstein".
  40. ^ "Internet Movie Database". IMDB. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  41. ^ Cummins, Layla (25 June 2020). "Who really Framed Roger Rabbit: The story behind an animated classic". All The Right Movies. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  42. ^ Korkis, Jim (17 January 2018). "The Roger Rabbit Shorts and Sequels - Part 1". Mouse Planet. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

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