hi everybody!
i have always loved the Marx Brothers and since i was very very small Go West has always been my favourite one (though now that im 23 i know its not the best). My fav scene is, of course, the final one with the train, and my favourite line is the Groucho says when asking for more wood. In spanish it goes like: Mas madera, es la guerra! and i have always wanted to know what does he says in english!
can somebody help me please?
thanks!!
bye
The only thing I can recall Groucho saying when asking for more wood is "Timber! Timber!"
"And now, I'm going back in the closet...where men are empty overcoats..."
I have "Go West" on DVD and it has 'castellano' as audio. In spanish Groucho says that phrase, but in english he really says nothing but timber, timber. Baravelli basicly already told it.
To me it's still interesting what that spanish phrase stands for. I'm not very good in spanish, but it may be something like "wine, more wine. It is war!" if I'm not again mistaken.
Therefore, does that spanish audio contain a joke that english version has not?
Another fine monument of illogic by an author called Puukkoo.
No suit - no tie - no service.
I don't know, but it sure makes me wish I could speak Spanish.
"And now, I'm going back in the closet...where men are empty overcoats..."
I've noticed that translations have some jokes that the originals don't have. These are of course minimal alterations and usually hardly even jokes. I can't even tell how Finnish had translated the 'sanity clause'. The translator had done his best for sure, but you can't always win.
Another fine monument of illogic by an author called Puukkoo.
No suit - no tie - no service.
The only time I ever saw a Marx Brothers joke translate well was (strangely enough) in Hebrew. Chico says he sent a mustache "hair mail" (air mail) and in the Hebrew subtitle it says "doar sair" which literally means "hairy mail," and it has the advantage or rhyming with "Doar Avir," which means "Air Mail." This joke actually works the way it was intended in both languages. Other than that, the best a translator can do is just to, more or less, make it up and hope for the best.
No doubt, this really loses something in translation. But isn't that the beauty of language? Each one has it's own rhythms and its own rhymes.
Enjoy.
D
How weird is that! i never knew that sometimes they introduce jokes when translating! i always knew about losing them, unfortunately.
the translation into english would be: "Timber, Timber, it is war!"
its a silly phrase but i love it.
i cant believe its the first time im happy i have seen the dubbed version instead of the original one.
one of the reasons why im learning english is to be able to watch a Marx Brothers movie without dubbing or subtitles... but Groucho makes it so difficult!!
later
I though it was referring to Madera wine. It could be timber as well. Thank you, anyway.
Another fine monument of illogic by an author called Puukkoo.
No suit - no tie - no service.
This is really odd, because the most famous Marx bros quotes in Spain. Are completely unknown in other countries: like when anyone is referring to them in Spain they usually say: Es la guerra, traen madera, traen madera! from Go west.
Or "Perdonen que no me levante"=Sorry for not standing up, which is according to them is written on Groucho's grave I think its called "epitaph" or something
but it is not, in fact Groucho not even has a grave.
Could it be that the Marx Brothers are actually more fun in Spanish?
Puukkoo
Play it again, Frank, I don't give a damn.
In the spanish version of ADATR, while Allan Jones is singing On blue venetian waters Maureen O'Sullivan says: Why are you looking at me, I'm not Brigitte Bardot.
And at the examination scene referring to his beard, Groucho calls Sig Ruman "mountain goat", in the spanish version he calls him "Fidel Castro".
This was written by:ME
In the spanish version of the Big store, at the "iwantmykids" scene Groucho asks Henry Armetta: Why do you want a bed if you got 12 children already?
shareOn his TV show, You Bet Your Life, Groucho once asked a contestant how many children he had; the man had many children, and Groucho asked him why he had so many. The man replied, "I just like children." Groucho then ad-libbed, "I like my cigar, but I take it out of my mouth!"
shareWell, maybe not his absolute best.
The Apple Scruffs Corps, 05
Piggy in a middle
Lol. Calling Sig Ruman 'Fidel Castro'? Now there has the translator taken some liberties!
And the bed thing... just got it!
Puukkoo
Play it again, Frank, I don't give a damn.
Hi there, it´s the usual stuff with spanish translations fron the 50' onwards... they did not translate jokes literally but made new, local & esay jokes (word_plays) for the audience to understand.
It happens also now with some cartoons, animation & comedy: spoofs like "Spaceballs" are plenty of them, even the title is a spoof and a word_play called "La Loca Historia de Las Galaxias" mixing the translation into spanish of 2 films like Space Wars & Police Academy....
Uff, by the way "+Madera" is ok translated as "Timber, timber" and Madeira wine would be a funny but weird joke! Still would make sense!
More Madeira, more Madeira, it's war! .... y dos huevos duros!
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Enjoy the catalonian sense of drama!
"More Madeira, more Madeira, it's war! .... y dos huevos duros!"
Honk!!!
I've almost forgotten this thread, but thanks dudes for further comments! The Spanish translators are comedians as well.
Play it again, Frank, I don't give a damn.
I am way late to this, but isn't he simply demanding "More wood! This is war!"
He's on a train with a wood-burning locomotive.
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"What's a spork?"
This is a bit late, but, that phrase translates as "More wood, this is war!" Must be a wood fired boiler that he's trying keep at maximum power. Otherwise it makes no sense. But then it is, after all, a Marx Brothers movie.
share[deleted]