posted
A few weeks ago I found a videotape buried in my closed: a copy of "Krieg der Sterne" -- that is, "Star Wars" dubbed into German. It was a gift from a German exchange student a few years ago. I put it on a little while ago for some "practical" practice in listening German. (The terrible sound quality of the tape and my crappy TV notwithstanding.)
It's weird hearing all the characters in different voices, but the worst is the fact that whoever did the voice of Darth Vader doesn't have one quarter the quality of tone as James Earl Jones. I'm not even sure if they put in any auditory filter to the guy's voice. (OTOH, I dunno if they did that with Jones's voice either... though I've always thought they did.)
This is the first time I've watched any American movie dubbed into German (or any other language), so I must say I've discovered great sympathy for those non-English-speaking fans!
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Apart from Monkey (cause I've only ever seen the English dub and that's how I remember it from childhood) - dubbed things seem silly to me - why not just subtitle the bloody things!?!
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
Anyway, I have started watching Star Trek (and any other film/series) in German of course, but since I have been to England countless times since I was 2 1/2 years old, I prefer the original versions any time. That's why I love DVDs so much, having the original AND (if necessary) the German version.
Interesting sidenote: the German voice of Captain Kirk is the same as the German voice of Sean Connery. So if you watch the early James Bond movies and close your eyes, you think Jim Kirk is talking.
Also interesting, they changed the German voice of Picard somewhere during the run of TNG. Now in the movie Outbreak, The "bad" general (played by Donald Sutherland) and the "good" one (the other actor with the distinct white hair) have the two different Picard voices. So close your eyes and you can listen to Picard arguing with Picard - it's quite fun!
-------------------- Lister: Don't give me the "Star Trek" crap! It's too early in the morning. - Red Dwarf "The Last Day"
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
Star Trek TNG in English is much better than the German version. On the other hand, Ally McBeal is much better in German IMHO. LotR was better in English, but Harry Potter was better in German.
-------------------- "Never give up. And never, under any circumstances, no matter what - never face the facts." - Ruth Gordon
Registered: Mar 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Sol System: Because dialogue-heavy films would tend to be unwatchable?
Also, far more importantly, Monkey?
Oh, I pity your un-fulfilled childhood!! Monkey - a Japanese series from 1979-1982 about the Journeys of the boy-priest Tripitaka accompanied by three Demons, Monkey - king of the Apes, Pigsy - a Pig-demon and Sandy- a Water demon. Tripitaka travels on his horse which was originally a Water Dragon. They are on their journey to India to fetch the scrolls of Buddha to bring back to China.
Brilliant series.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
Dirty Harry in german, now THAT'S scary. Sounds like he's gonna force himself upon anyone he's currently adressing.
Registered: Aug 1999
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
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posted
Nothing--I say again, NOTHING--is better than watching dubbed movies in Spanish on Telemundo. "True Lies" en Espa�ol? Cinematic greatness. "Field Of Dreams" was pure genius.
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
Registered: Jun 2000
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"Monkey", "Pigsy", and "Sandy" have to be the worst names for demons I've ever heard. No wonder they follow some kid around. Everyone in hell probably makes fun of them all day.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Shrek in Spanish is great. "Hable... hombre el pan?"
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
No TV series can be better in the dubbed version. Something is always lost, be it a dialect, a pun or some other in-joke that simply can't be translated. Fortunately, there are genres like science fiction or fantasy where it is still possible to retain the original meaning and tone. But especially American comedy in German is simply awful (but this may be also because I don't like American comedy shows anyway).
-------------------- Bernd Schneider
Registered: Mar 1999
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