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The set of sixteen films below can be partitioned. Each partition is of four films that have something in common. I invite you to figure out the partitions and commonalities. You'll find that the four commonalities have, themselves, something in common.

  • Baby Driver (2017)
  • Beautiful Boy (2018)
  • Blue Velvet (1986)
  • Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
  • Caned (2015)
  • Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981)
  • Dazed and Confused (1993)
  • Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
  • Hester Street (1975)
  • Idle Hands (1999)
  • Lightning Lariats (1927)
  • Maria's Lovers (1984)
  • Skidoo (1968)
  • The Barbarians (1987)
  • The Hows of Us (2018)
  • Zachariah (1971)

Hint added later:

Three of the partitions relate to the films' titles; one partition requires knowledge of the films beyond their titles.

Hint added even later: Two of the partitions are

"this film's title has a word with…".

Another partition is

"this film's title is…".

And the last is

"this film starred…".

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    $\begingroup$ 4 of them start with B... $\endgroup$
    – matt
    Oct 5, 2020 at 21:58
  • $\begingroup$ What is fair game for connections? Is knowledge of, say, the plot, or the actors, or the crew, required? $\endgroup$
    – bobble
    Oct 5, 2020 at 21:58
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @bobble, I did tag this with the "movies" tag. That said, the knowledge required is not particularly arcane. Nothing to do with, say, the gaffer. $\endgroup$
    – msh210
    Oct 5, 2020 at 22:03
  • $\begingroup$ @bobble, see my edit to the question post. $\endgroup$
    – msh210
    Oct 6, 2020 at 22:26

1 Answer 1

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I managed to come up with the following groups:

Group 1: This film's title has a word with "aria"

1) Lightning Lariats
2) Maria's Lovers
3) The Barbarians
4) Zachariah

Group 2: This film starred an actress with the name Carol.

1) Bunny Lake is Missing (Carol Lynley)
2) Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (Carol Burnett)
3) Hester Street (Carol Kane)
4) Skidoo (Carol Channing)

Group 3: This film's title is named after a song (corrected by OP).

1) Beautiful Boy - John Lennon
2) Blue Velvet - Bobby Vinton
3) Dazed and Confused - Jake Holmes
4) Baby Driver - Simon and Garfunkel

Group 4: This film's title contains a word that is an anagram for a music genre type.

1) Caned -> Dance [Dance Music]
2) Idle Hands -> Lied [Lied Music, a particular type of German music]
3) The Hows of Us -> Show [Show Music - as in the kind that plays in shows]
4) Hacksaw Ridge -> Dirge [A somber song expressing grief, normally played during funerals.]

As mentioned in the question, "the four commonalities themselves have something in common".

The common concept is MUSIC:

1) Aria - A long song accompanying a solo voice. Usually in an opera context.
2) Carol - A religious folk song or a popular hymn. Like Christmas carols.
3) Song names
4) Anagram of music genres

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  • $\begingroup$ @msh210 rot13(Bu, jura V vavgvnyyl frnepurq sbe Onol Qevire fbat anzr, nyy V tbg jnf gur zbivr'f fbhaqgenpx. Juvpu vf jul V chg Vqyr Unaqf gurer vafgrnq. Nyfb, Qvetr jnf pbeerpg)? $\endgroup$
    – Alaiko
    Oct 14, 2020 at 14:29
  • $\begingroup$ rot13(Lrnu, qvetr jnf zl vagragvba.) $\endgroup$
    – msh210
    Oct 14, 2020 at 14:31

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