For example, in The Hunt for Red October they decided to switch the Russian speaking characters to speaking in English after they said 'Armageddon' which sounds the same in Russian as in English. I thought it was a nice way to bridge things over for the audience and have someone like Connery still in the lead Russian role. Still, it usually upsets me when characters that aren't supposed to speak English do nothing but that in the movie...
Comments
willrsauls t1_jegzlcn wrote
This. I would say Hollywood just assumes American audiences are too stupid and close minded to watch subtitles, but we unfortunately have plenty of evidence to prove that general American audiences really are just that stupid and close minded
Asha_Brea t1_jeg3ssd wrote
John from The It Crowd:
TizonaBlu t1_jeg7llk wrote
Funny enough, that’s literally how anyone from nonEnglish speaking countries watch movies.
Hell, anime fans have been doing that for decades.
Asha_Brea t1_jeg7wjk wrote
Lots of English speaking movies in non English speaking countries are dubbed (Sometimes you have the option to watch the movie subbed or dubbed, but there are less of that now) and Anime is only subbed if you watch it online. The one that is on TV is dubbed as well.
Source: I live in a Spanish speaking country.
jubilant-barter t1_jegz61r wrote
In a lot of countries, it's hilarous. They'll overdub the audio, and only have two actors.
So you can still hear the original dialogue, it's just that one guy and one woman are rapid-fire and emotionlessly speaking Russian or Tamil or whatever over the other sounds.
Asha_Brea t1_jeh0ov7 wrote
I search for subtitled screenings rather than dubs, so I haven't experienced that.
Alive_Ice7937 t1_jeh14pe wrote
It's weird because the lips don't match the dialogue in the original audio anyway.
lego_office_worker t1_jeg9ngv wrote
why do english movies for english audiences have actors that speak english?
hmm
Dove_of_Doom t1_jeg4evg wrote
Because Americans primarily (not exclusively) speak English. This isn't unique to the United States. British television programs like Rome and I, Claudius weren't performed in Latin. The Death of Stalin and Enemy at the Gates, both British films set in Russia, were in English.
_wyfern_ OP t1_jeg4tnd wrote
When its satire like The Death of Stalin (which is amazing btw, I love Ianuccis writing), I get why its all in English. I think the jokes work better when its all so quick like that. not to forget that you'd never be able to make a movie like that even in Russia lol
nascentia t1_jeg4fjq wrote
It's primarily driven by money and box office, but you may be surprised to learn that 21% of Americans can't read and 54% read below a 6th grade level, so even on a practical basis, subtitling a film can turn away at minimum a potential 21% of your audience.
Schubert125 t1_jeg4mwc wrote
Part of it is who the intended audience is. You want the target audience to be able to understand what is going on. If the target audience typically only knows one language, you don't want them to be confused about what other characters are saying. So that means forcing characters to speak a language that may not technically fit the story, or adding subtitles.
square3481 t1_jeg9gsl wrote
Besides marketability, film is a visual medium, and you want to be looking at the actor, not at the bottom of the screen.
Consider Better Call Saul, and >!Nacho's death scene. Logically, all the characters there should be speaking Spanish, but you want to focus on the rage on Nacho's face as he curses Hector. Plus, not all the actors in the scene speak great Spanish, so better to keep it in English.!<
Dragonborn83196 t1_jegda8d wrote
Unfortunately a lot of people I know, my wife, sister, dad, cousins and a few other friends in my life do not like reading subtitles and they will shit on movies that are dubbed because it looks and sounds cheap. I am in a completely different league and have come to enjoy a lot of foreign films over American ones. Particularly in the horror genre but others as well
SonnyBurnett189 t1_jegefzz wrote
Probably because more often than not the actor isn’t a native speaker so it makes more sense to just have the lines in English. The most egregious example of this is characters speaking Spanish in American movies, they often use direct translations or don’t pronounce correctly if the actor isn’t a native speaker.
Anyway, this is what I enjoy a lot about movies like Inglorious Basterds. There are two prominent scenes about the characters’ cover being blown because their non-native accent was recognized.
unbibium t1_jegfp32 wrote
Legend has it that they had to keep reducing the number of Connery's Russian lines, and that Alec Baldwin can still recite his Russian lines to this day.
lifesthateasy t1_jeg3o4t wrote
That's nothing compared to all the media put there where multi-galactic space covenants just speak English by default. Even the notion of all of them communicating via sound and words and sentences is weird.
[deleted] t1_jeg3ybr wrote
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UpbeatAd1191 t1_jeg50b9 wrote
Personally I like french and Japanese films I prefer to use English captions it just makes me focus more.
Canucklehead_Esq t1_jeg7nws wrote
Almost anything American made prior to the 1960s was almost completely in English. The first movie I recall with non-English speaking parts was Tora Tora Tora.
That's been changing now, especially as so much of the content on major streaming sites is foreign made.
charleyismyhero t1_jeghfmo wrote
Same reason other countries will have foreign roles in their native language (and/or played by native actors).
Beccarorron t1_jeg3z5n wrote
As an English only speaking American I believe the only language anyone should ever speak is English because I’m too lazy to learn another language.
Beccarorron t1_jeg4v9m wrote
I was kidding guys
Glanwy t1_jega1y9 wrote
Absolutely agree, for the same reasons. Bone idleness, why, when I can get by pretty much anywhere on the planet.
devilinthedetails t1_jeg3xcf wrote
American audiences are less likely to embrace a movie where they have to read lots of subtitles. Studios are more interested in box office receipts than they are about expanding the cultural awareness of moviegoers.