MovieChat Forums > Battleground (1950) Discussion > German and French dialog

German and French dialog

posted 8 years ago by Pervy_Grin
1 reply | jump to latest

Impressed by the use of authentic German and French language in the movie. Might it have been helpful to have subtitles, or did they want the viewers to be as clueless as the soldiers as to what was being said? I tried using captions and Google translate but the captions disappear when the DVR is paused. Resorted to taking pictures with my phone and then translating. Very interesting to know what the German soldiers were saying, and poignant what Denise was praying before she was killed. "Make me to notify death, I will obtain the perfect eternal greeting".

[–] bcamphome 8 years ago

The audience is supposed to be in the shoes of the non-French speaking, non-German speaking G.I.'s, so we're supposed to be left in the dark like they are until--and if--someone translates. A common tactic in movies like this.

Subtitles are added in those movies where the scenes involving German and French speakers are essential to the plot, as in THE LONGEST DAY.

Then there are plenty of Hollywood war films where the German characters are supposed to be speaking German to each other, but they speak English consistently, as in WHERE EAGLES DARE and THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN. When a German character finally speaks German to the civilians in the tunnel at the end of REMAGEN, it's quite startling and tends to take one out of the movie.