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In Reply to: Fine article on the art of dubbing posted by clarkjohnsen on February 6, 2005 at 11:18:08:
Dubbing is definitely a foreign thing to the average American viewer. To do it well and right means high expense, good actors, long hours, special studios, etc, etc. All that used to be done very well in the USSR, where all foreign films would normally be dubbed, and usually extremely well.Whether dubbing is the universal answer is not clear. Much could be said for hearing the voice of Jean Gabin, not a Russian actor dubbing him, however great. But one things is for sure - there is hardly a worse scenario than a bad dub.
Follow Ups:
I must say that I prefer subtitles, for the reason written above: I like to hear the voice of the actual actor. I can usually read fast enough, and my eyes move quick enough, that I do not miss much. The only times subtitles are difficult is when I am trying to eat dinner (sometimes unavoidable) while watching. The other, for reasons I cannot fully understand, is when I am watching Spaghetti Westerns, which I love. Having tried dubbed and subtitled, I generally watched the dubbed version.The question of dubbing or subtitles would largely, to me, come down to a question of which the director intended. I assume that artistic decisions by the director were made with subtitles in mind, and that dubbing, more often than not, is the studio's decision to make the film play better in English speaking countries, for reasons of commerce. I envision actors being chosen because of how they speak or present the screenplay. As good as the dubbing actor may be, I cannot assume that they satisfy the intent of the director. Now, if the director said that the screenplay, etc. were made with the intent of being dubbed, that would be a different story.
I agree with the first paragraph - I simply NEVER eat and watch with the subs.Some people read slower than others. Some - like me - have to read in language other than their native one. It seems to me that usually the speech is absorbed quicker than reading in all people. That apparently leads to one serious drawback of ALL subs - they are always too abbreviated. I notice that particularly well when watching Russian films... natch. Big chunks are always missing. It seems to me that the editors have to cut out less of the speech with dubbing. In some cases that might not matter much - when very few words are spoken - but in other cases with the machine gun dialogue, that is critical.
No matter how quick you are reading, you are still taking your eyes off the screen. The director makes the film expecting you to stay riveted to the picture, so every time you move your eyes, you lose some.
I am not a slow reader (although my wife is whole lot faster) but I do know I miss plenty of action that the director probably sweated enormoutsly to put on the screen. I often lose the sight of people's eyes, that are usually positioned way above the subs, and all their play.
For that reason alone my vote would be for a masterfully done dub, in the ideal 'non-ideal' world. As I said - less dialogue chopped and less action missed... at the cost of not hearing the actor's voice.
I much prefer films to be left in their native tounge (could never spell that word!)Example: Das Boot, Wolfgang Petersons wonderful WW2 U-boat film, is much, much better with the actors speaking German. I don't mind English subtitles at all.
In the Dubbed version, the U-boat Captain looks and sounds ridiculous yelling out:...." Fire torpedo one!!"...When correctly he would yell out: "Los!!"I also prefer Werner Herzogs films "un-dubbed".
Just my 2 cents
Russ
My favorite character, the little mischevious lieutenant, sounds like the intentionally worst, high-pitched, high school nerd on earth. Why they do characterizations like that is beyond me . . . subtitles are the only way to go with foreign film.
----Be right there, Mom.
...have you seen a really well dubbed film?Voice in not the only part of acting. And when you read subs you always miss some other kinds - facial, etc.
Good dub allows you to concentrate on actor's acting, and that is its main attractiveness. So I shall not agree the subs in the best, or even the only, way to go.
You are fully right. Most of the time, it is just so.
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