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Movies in your native language

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Nienor SharkAttack
Post subject: Movies in your native language
Posted: Fri 06 Feb , 2009 2:55 pm
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Last night I went to see Max Manus, a Norwegian movie about the German occupation of Norway during WWII. The critics have been very positive, a milion people has seen it (population: 4,7 million ;)), and everyone just think it's great. And it was, it was good. I just never get used to the fact that the actors are speaking Norwegian. Somehow, I don't find Norwegian movies to be as convincing as foreign ones, the actors' lines often sound fake, I just don't buy it. The Germans in Max Manus (speaking German) sounded far more convincing than all of the Norwegians!

This goes for all Norwegian movies, and I don't think it's (just :P) because our actors are bad. I think it has something to do with the use of my native language. I suppose it's just easier to detect it if the lines aren't delivered in a completely convincing fashion? And also, maybe, that I usually watch movies in English, and so is used to hearing dramatic stuff spoken in English. (WWII movie counts as dramatic. ;)) An example from Notting Hill springs to mind: "Inform the Pentagon we need Black Star cover!" I wouldn't have reacted if someone had said that in an American movie. If it had been said in Norwegian in a Norwegian movie, I would have laughed.

The most effective line in Max Manus, in my opinion, was when the hero (Max) told an English officer, in English: "My country was stolen from me, sir. And I want it back." And I just know it wouldn't have worked as well (for me) if he had said it in Norwegian.


Does anyone else experience this? That movies were a foreign language are spoken are more convincing than movies in your native language? Or is it just that I am brainwashed from watching too many Hollywood movies? How about you English speakers?

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Areanor
Post subject: Re: Movies in your native language
Posted: Mon 09 Feb , 2009 11:26 pm
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Hmm. Aren't movies in Norway shown in original language with captions? I thought I've read that somewhere...

Over here, all movies are dubbed. This means, we germans are used to hearing dramatic stuff spoken in german. So movies shown at the cinema or on TV are in german. When I get my hands on a DVD, I try to watch the english version (well, I can only do this when I watch the movie alone, as my husbands english isn't good enough for watching movies), and it's rather funny to compare the voices. And it's quite funny to see lips moving while the speaker has already finished the german sentence and vice versa.....

LOL, the only time I've seen LotR in german was at the cinema. :scratch:
I tried to watch it on TV, but I switched the channel as soon as I realised that I missed the familiar original voices......

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Nienor SharkAttack
Post subject: Re: Movies in your native language
Posted: Tue 10 Feb , 2009 4:49 pm
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Areanor wrote:
Hmm. Aren't movies in Norway shown in original language with captions? I thought I've read that somewhere...
Now that's a good point. Nothing is ever dubbed here, except children's movies (and even then the cinemas will usually put up the original version as well). Which means that almost all movies are in English, since such a small country does not produce too many movies (and people anyways want to see the big Hollywood blockbusters). I asked my mum and a couple of friends, and they all felt the same way I do, what I wrote in my first post. So I guess we really are brainwashed by Hollywood? :shrug:


Dubbing is awful. :blackeye:

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Pippin4242
Post subject: Re: Movies in your native language
Posted: Wed 11 Feb , 2009 2:49 am
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As an anime fan, I agree with you almost 100% about dubbing being awful. There are a few seriously classy examples of anime dubbing into English that I can think of (and I live across the road from a guy who was friends with a girl who covered for a regular VA in one of them! :P) but it's really very rare.

What I was actually thinking of was... I quite like doing impressions, nothing major, but if I was repeating a throwaway quote from something, I'd generally take on the persona of the original character a little. Understandable, right?
Well why, every time I quote something from TV, do I feel the urge to affect a mild American accent?

TV voices are American to me.

-Pips-

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laureanna
Post subject: Re: Movies in your native language
Posted: Wed 11 Feb , 2009 3:37 am
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I prefer subtitled movies to dubbed ones, since I tend to lip-read, subconsciously. Not that I am good at any language besides English. I remember watching Das Boot in German with English subtitles. All the swearing didn't need subtitles because it was in English.:D

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Movies in your native language
Posted: Wed 11 Feb , 2009 4:36 am
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I prefer subtitles to dubbing, but I don't have much experience in this, unless you count turning on the captioning so I can understand what the actors are saying in BBC movies. ;)

(Well, seriously, it takes more work to understand the movie when the actors have a strong accent, even if they're speaking English. Now, I do fine with this overall as I watch a lot of British stuff. But I do have to ask Freddy to translate Redneck for me sometimes. :D )

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