Famous movies as described by their IMDb keywords

Slide show: If you had to find one phrase to describe "Inception," "The Shining" or "Twilight," what would it be?

Published June 9, 2011 12:01PM (EDT)

IMDb.com is a great resource for any movie buff. From providing little-known trivia about your favorite films and shows to confirming official release dates and production information, the site is about as comprehensive as Wikipedia for cinephiles.

And also like Wikipedia, the site has sections that can be edited by the populace, in this case meaning anyone with an IMDb Contributor Account. Besides writing reviews and updating information on their favorite cinematic topics, anyone willing to go through the submission process can add to and edit sections like production details, trivia and my personal favorite, "keywords."

I don't know if any of you have checked out your favorite film's keyword section on IMDb lately, but it can get a little nutso in there -- ranging from the broad genre-based terms (murder, black comedy, brother-sister relationship), to the highly specific (obscene finger gesture, reference to the "Family Circus," goat).

Because the keywords for any given movie are liable to include a couple of oddball references, we looked through some classic films to find their most ridiculous plot words on IMDb's reference page. The results may give you an entirely new perspective on Hollywood's most famous stories.


By Drew Grant

Drew Grant is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @videodrew.

MORE FROM Drew Grant


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