A dub step too far

A dub step too far

Dubbed films are two a penny on the continent, bringing foreign language films to mainstream audiences. Why hasn't it taken off in Britain?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/sep/24/2

In my head Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks with a French accent. So do Sly Stallone and Harrison Ford, and often they sound the same.

In France, most film fans never get to hear the speaking voices of Hollywood stars as dubbing is the preferred method of rendering non-French language movies releasable in the republic. Subtitled fare is only seen in some cinemas - usually in the bigger cities - and is hardly ever shown on television, unless it's on a speciality film cable channel.
In fact, one gets so used to Hollywood actors speaking in one's own language that listening to the real deal can be unsettling. The first time I watched Arnie in the original I thought I was watching a comedy piss-take. Was the Terminator supposed to come from a futuristic Austria? He sounded better in French.

The same tends to apply across the continent, certainly in Spain, Italy and Germany. I found this out the hard way in Berlin, at the European premiere of Peter Jackson's King Kong. As the lights dimmed, my excitement turned to frustration as I realised the movie was dubbed in German - alas, a tongue I haven't gotten my head around. I had assumed a concession would have been made for a European premiere. The next three hours were spent ruing my mistake.
Of course, there are some exceptions to the rule. In the Nordic countries, subtitled films are the norm in cinema and on TV as most locals speak perfect English. After all, subtitling is cheaper; dubbing is only used for children's movies. But in general, European film fans who want to see Al Pacino lose his rag in English rather than in German or Turkish have to resort to an illegal download, wait for the DVD (more subtitles options than you could ever possibly need) or (for the truly desperate) move to the UK.
I used to hate dubbing. It was a crime against art, an outrage against all the actors who slaved away on set to get their performance just right. It was particularly bad for comedies: all that rhythmic timing went down the drain the moment voices were translated. But some translations can be great fun (like this French clip of Four Weddings and a Funeral); others are predictably awful.

Yet some of the best classic films were dubbed. Visconti's Il Gattopardo starred Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale in a mishmash of original and translated voices. Visconti initially refused to have a "cowboy" play a Sicilian aristocrat, but it is now hard to see how anyone but Lancaster could have played the part – even if it meant the movie had to be dubbed.
Another great thing about dubbing is that it makes foreign-language films more accessible. Many British cinemagoers balk at the idea of watching a film with subtitles as they associate it with difficult arthouse fare that will bore them witless - that would be adding insult to injury after coughing up an extortionate amount just for admission. Maybe dubbing it in English would sweeten the pill.

The problem is that British audiences are not used to dubbing: terrestrial TV stations only show English-language films and the occasional subtitled movie. A dose of dubbed Jean-Paul Belmondo might be just thing the doctor ordered.