How good is Alec Guiness's accent in this? It strikes me as excellent but I'm not an expert. And as a Welshman I've witnessed no end of accent butchery, and know how much these things matter. The Irish must love James Mason in Odd Man Out.
shareI'm not a Scot, but as a sometime radio actress I have an interest in accents as well. I searched all five pages of user reviews. Found only one evaluation of accents, in the review "Great movie. Great cast. Great location." at the bottom of page [1]. The reviewer, a native Scot now living in Australia, hailed the Scottish accents as "excellent."
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I'm not Scots but even I can tell his accent is merely adequate. Being a great actor, however, he overcomes it and creates believability. One major gaffe he makes is saying "auld lang zyne," instead of using the "s" sound as any Scot would have done.
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Yeah, thanks angelofvic, but I cannot accept your unpleasant ("even I") answer, based as it is only on stuff you think you know. All Scots would use a hard 's' when saying 'auld lang syne' you seem to be saying. Not sure I believe that. But anyway, eff off sais.
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Hmm, you need to read my post again. You're saying the reverse of what I've said.
And you only need to look up the song online to find out the correct pronunciation is the Scots soft s for Auld lang syne.
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Well you have hard 's' sounds and soft 's' sounds don't you. I understood what you meant, but you didn't me, apparently because you aren't clever enough.
I started this clearly named thread with a view to hearing the opinions of fellow Celts on the accents within this film. I didn't want or expect half-literate pedant yanks posting their gormless guesswork in a spiteful tone.
As to your boring pronunciation point - I'll repeat, I don't particularly accept that everybody in Scotland would use a hard 's' when saying Auld Lang Syne, and in any case a mispronunciation of a single letter would not render the whole accent bad. Many or perhaps most Welsh people, for example, improperly pronounce Welsh words while using a Welsh accent. But anyway.
Please don't post any more comments on this thread - you aren't Scottish so you aren't qualified. That you even chose to read my question is testament to your perverse instincts and excess of spare time, and the internet has far more more rewarding outlets for those instincts.
Hi Abe, you're welcome to research the point -- you'l find it's very incorrect to pronounce the S as a Z in Syne, and every Scot knows that.
You're also free to research what Scots think about Guinness's accent -- it's in some of the user reviews and so forth. They agree with me.
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And I'm free to start a thread asking Scots a question without having yanks post irritating, boring, meaningless drivel. Sod off.
shareLeave it to a bad tempered Welshman to get nasty with an American for having an opinion about an English actor using a Scots accent.
We have a Yankee answer for your types, but I can't type it here.
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Another Yank? Why're you reading this thread? It is an American site I suppose, but still, haven't you got anything better to do?
I was irked by the last one because he sneered at me first, before delivering his single hypothetical and irrelevant fact three times. And all I wanted was to hear from some Scots.
Is Alec Guiness's Scottish accent any good in this?
I'm Scottish.
I find Guinness's accent a bit cod, but it is OK. There are non-Scottish actors around who can play Scots a lot better. But just remember that the definition of acting is to become someone you are not.
BTW, the accents used by Dennis Price and John Mills would be typical of the officer class, and are perfectly fine.
I was so mesmerised by Guinness' acting that I did not pay too close attention to the Scots accent, but it did not sound as Scottish as I have heard spoken by various Scots in films and in real life. However, I do recall noticing how Guinness pronounced "tunes," with a "t" sound, whereas I have heard the "tu" pronounced as "ch," "chune" and "chusday" (Tuesday). Also, some of the films made in Scotland now even have subtitles, like "Orphans" and "Red Road." Without them, I would find it terribly difficult to follow, whereas the dialogue in "Tunes of Glory" was perfectly distinct.
shareI thought that it was a marvellous film but the best actor was Guinness's wig. A proto-Mohican if ever there was one. ;O)
Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.