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Topic: About Spaghetti Westerns

Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 10-10-2002 10:46 AM

The only reason I listened to the dubbing on Lola Rennt (run lola run) is to hear what they did with it. I had heard it was horrible. It sounds as if we are listening to some late teen californians who just got thrown out of the gap for loitering.

Peter, an example of dubbing for no good reason is Mad Max. When that wonderful Australian gem was pegged for US distribution, it was dubbed for US audiences. Well the new special edition DVD has the original voice tracks and MAN that is such a fresh change.

Dave

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 10-10-2002 03:30 PM

Do you mean to say that the original US release of Mad Max was dubbed in American voices because they were anxious that American audiences would not accept the Australian accent?
Michael

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Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-10-2002 11:04 PM

I haven't seen Mad Max as yet - I shall have to get it out on DVD and see how it looks dubbed in American.

I think the dubbing on the Sergio Leone films gave the films part of their unique character. One of the effects of dubbing is the loss of background noise as well as the accentuation of the noises that are actually put in. A person pacing sounds louder than it might in an undubbed film, the wind is louder than normal and sound effects more stark.

The net effect is that there is overstated light and shade on the soundtrack. Events accompanied by noise have greater impact - even the crunching of the sole of a shoe on gravel becomes earth shattering. It is somewhat like having the audience's senses made more acute and in my opinion gives the film more impact.

Thus, what otherwise might have been a disadvantage, Leone turned to his advantage and created westerns with greater impact and volume.

I think its high time for a sequel to the Good, The Bad and the Ugly. I see no reason why the Italians couldn't make a new sequel in the same style.

What I am curious about, as an aside, is what happened to the film site in Spain where the films were filmed. Do the buildings still stand? Presumably there would still be a railroad, railroad station etc etc.

cheers Peter

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-11-2002 12:21 AM

Dunno, but the trains are one dead giveaway that we aren't in Kansas anymore (to coin a phrase).

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 10-11-2002 10:15 PM

FILM LOCATIONS OF THE 'DOLLARS' TRILOGY DIRECTED BY SERGIO LEONE
FILM STILLS AND LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHS
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jimmy.r/

The page is very slow but worth visiting!
Michael

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Thomas Hauerslev
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 10-13-2002 12:12 AM

Prompted by the first post, I watched "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" last night on TV. It was a treat to see it it again. Wonderful stereotypes, editing, photography, music and great plot twists. It has this very cheap look, and suddenly huge production value shows up when they blow up the bridge and thousands of stand-ins are on-screen.

There are SO many cheap and crappy films shown on national Danish TV at the moment. Many of which (luckily) never reached Danish cinemas, but are now shown on TV - I gather they buy them cheap.

And then suddenly "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" shows up, in letterbox and great color. Even my wife stayed up to see it.

Just priceless.

------------------
Cheers, Thomas
www.in70mm.com
www.dp70.com
www.70mm.dk

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Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-13-2002 06:28 AM

I hope you masked your TV set with black tape above and below the picture Thomas

Seriously though it is great. I just hope that they didn't put any commercials on your Danish TV channel but showed the film as in theatres - in one piece. I'm glad you enjoyed the film.

cheers Peter

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 10-13-2002 09:26 PM

Peter, are there any Australian Western movies? It would be hard to explain the Kangaroos in the background, but the Spaghetti Western never tried to be too authentic either.
By the way, the article you linked to in your first post is very interesting. I didn`t even know that the first German "Old Shatterhand" movie started the wave of European Western production. Those movies were not B-pictures, but very big productions at the time, I believe some of the biggest German productions ever. All of them were based on the novels of the 19th-century German writer Karl May, and it was logical for them to start making them into films sooner or later, as May`s adventure novels were favourite boys` reading for decades. There is also another series about the same central character, as I wrote earlier, a German railroad engineer, who leaves the Wild West after his friend "Winnetou" dies, and he goes on to the Balcans were "Old Shatterhand" becomes "Kara Ben Nemsi".
Michael

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Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-14-2002 03:21 AM

I don't known of any truly Australian Westerns Michael. Australians have made a few films about life in the 19th century in Australia but that is quite different.

My interest in a true 'Australian' western is the fact that the country up in the north western part of Australia is similar to that in south western USA. Australia has such a wide range of scenery that it is ideal for movie production.

cheers Peter

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 10-14-2002 03:56 AM

Isn`t there a movie with Tom Selleck as some kind of Western character in Australia?
Michael

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Thomas Hauerslev
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 10-14-2002 08:29 AM

National Danish TV broadcast commercials between programs. Films are shown in the original AR. On commercial channels it's a different ball game. Pan and scan and commercial breaks at almost all reel changes. Movies ruined - that's it.

------------------
Cheers, Thomas
www.in70mm.com
www.dp70.com
www.70mm.dk

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-14-2002 09:37 AM

In Britain it's even worse than that: some channels interrupt programmes (including feature films) and broadcast commercials in the middle of them. That's one of the many reasons I don't have a TV at home.

I suppose you could describe Crocodile Dundee as an Australian Western, albeit a spoof one...

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