Indiana Jones y el reino de la calavera de cristal (Doblada)
May 25th, 2008 by Don Ray
I just looked up the new Indiana Jones move in La Prenza. As you can see, the movie is not in English, but is dubbed. I don’t go to many movies, but I was planning on going to this one. Normally all of the good movies (with the exception of children’s movies) are in English with Spanish subtitles. Not so with this one. Thinking of Harrison Ford talking in Spanish just doesn’t blow my skirt.
I guess I will have to wait and rent it at Blockbuster. Bummer.
When I lived in France there were three types of movies you could go to…Those in French, naturally, or, to them, “foreign” movies dubbed into French, and then there were VO movies. VO means “Version Original” (see, now you know some French, lol). I was living with a pretty little blonde from Dunkirk who spoke virtually no English. At the beginning of our relationship I barely spoke French. At the time I could understand about 10-15% of what was said on tv or in a movie. I doubt Florence was able to grasp that much at an English language VO.
We had an arrangement for our movie going. We traded off. One French, one VO although she did have an advantage in that most of the VOs, while in English, had French subtitles.
When “Dances With Wolves” hit the silver screens in Nice it was available in both dubbed French (with no English subtitles, of course) and in VO. Having read the great reviews in the International Herald Tribune I wanted to see it in VO, but it was only showing for a short time in VO and it was my turn to go to one of Florence’s films. I told her I’d go to two consecutive French films if we could go see DWW in VO. Florence drives a hard bargain and I had to agree on going to THREE consecutive French movies and watching French tv counted for zip.
Everything was going along swimmingly at the start of the the movie and Florence was doing well with the subtitles. Then he meets the Sioux! As you will recall, the Sioux spoke in their own language in the film with subtitles. Well, same thing in Nice but the subtitles continued on in French and then I was lost! Not only that, after the show was over and I appealed to Florence that I’d missed a great deal of the film not being able to read the Fench subtitles when the Indians were talking she wouldn’t relent and I had to go to three consecutive French films.
I have to say, though, by the time I left France I understood about 90% of everything I heard on tv and in their movies. Certainly enough to follow even the most intricate of plot lines. And there were a lot of movies I got to watch for a second time when I returned to the States, but this time in Version Original.
Thanks Richard. The moral of the story?
Hi Richard and Adehl. I could watch the movie and understand enough in Spanish. The problem, at least for me, is that when you know how the actors sound, then seeing them with a strange voice ruins it. I saw one with Eddie Murphy one time and the dub wasn’t close to the sound of his voice.
I think the moral to Richard’s comment is that watching movies in the language of the country will help you to learn the language. I agree.
Adehl- The “moral” of the story is: sometimes we aren’t as smart as we think we are, by half. Imagine watching DWW without the subtitles when the Indians are speaking. I thought I’d struck a good bargain with Florence to watch THREE French films to see what would become a classic in English only to get foxed by subtitles.
I agree with Don Ray, watching a movie of your favorite actor/actress whose voice is ingrained in your mind is, at first, comedic (for a few minutes) and then irritating after that. You KNOW what the actors really sound like and then, to not hear that voice, the timbre and the inflections you’re set to hear just don’t get it when it’s someone elses voice you’re listening to. The reason so many silent film actors didn’t make it in talkies wasn’t so much that their voices weren’t suitable for the medium, it’s because the viewers had created in their minds what they THOUGHT the actors should sound like and when they didn’t sound that way it was the same as watching Harrison Ford speaking Spanish, or Urdu. Can’t be done.
I guess you just mean up there in David, here in the city its available in English in Extreme Planet and Cineopolis…
Yes. I was talking about the local theaters.