MovieChat Forums > La legge (1960) Discussion > Is the French dubbed?

Is the French dubbed?


I am watching this film for the first time right now on TCM Imports and am curious about the use of French in a film that is set in an Southern Italian village and has a mostly Italian cast. I know that this was a French/Italian production, was it made for the French? Also, is the French dubbed in? It seem's that they did a pretty good job if so. If it is dubbed, does anyone know if any of the actors dubbed in their real voices? Lollobrigida, Mastroianni and Montand were born in Italy, Brasseur was French, and Mercouri was a famous Greek. The rest of the cast and crew look like Italian names. But then again Jules Dassin was American! I know he came to Europe to make films after being blacklisted as a Communist in the U.S. His first film in Europe "Rififi" was shot in France but contained French, Italian and some English. His next film was shot in Greece but used mostly French actors; except Mercouri who he married soon after. Then he did this film "The Law". It seems that he settled in France after leaving America and made French/Italian productions. As I look through his filmography I see that most of his post-U.S. films were made up of International casts. I seem to have answered part or my question, except the original; is this film dubbed into French and if so did any of the Actors dub in their own voices? Anyone?

-------------Gary (fluffhead34)

Do you remember the spell?
Asa Nisi Masa... Asa Nisi Masa... sh!

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I can't say for certain, but I just watched this on instant Netflix, and I am almost positive that Mastroianni was dubbed by a French actor. It just didn't seem like his voice to me, at all. Wasn't his voice.

I can't speak for the other actors or Dassin's other films, but I know it was common practice back then with Italian productions to automatically dub the dialogue in during post production. But as you mentioned, this appears to be a French production just set in Italy. It is not that different from John Huston making a Hollywood film about Cuban with no Spanish at all.

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It definitely wasn't Mastroianni's voice in the French dub. Could have been Montand's since he spoke French. Doubt it was Lollobrigida's voice as well. Lollobrigida really looked awesome in this film, probably the zenith of her natural beauty before she started to trowel on the make-up in her Hollywood films.

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[deleted]

I agree but Montand may have looped his own voice since he spoke French fluently. They could have shot the original soundtrack in several languages, English, French, Italian. There were several French actors in it as well.

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I don't know if it's his voice or not, but Mastroianni's lips definitely did not match the audio at times, so I think it probably was dubbed.

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