MovieChat Forums > Week End (1968) Discussion > Dialogue in the beginning unintelligible...

Dialogue in the beginning unintelligible?

posted 16 years ago by jawko
7 replies | jump to latest

I just watched this movie for the first time, unfortunately it was on a VHS tape, a version dubbed into German which I recorded from TV several years ago and rediscovered only recently.

So, there is this scene in the beginning when the woman allegedly describes an orgy to her boyfriend. I say allegedly, because shortly after it started, the whispered dialogue became unintelligible, buried under very loud soundtrack music. The part of the dialogue that I could understand didn't even touch the subject of an orgy. Was this intentional?
Since this is a Godard movie, every weird random thing can happen at any minute, so having to look at a woman sitting on a table for several minutes, accompanied only by music should not surprise me.
But I guess there's also the possibility that it's the fault of bad VHS audio or the dubbing.
Can someone clear this up for me? Thanks!

Why go on living when we can bury you for $49.50?

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jawko 16 years ago

Yes, but I did not hear her describing an orgy, nor the erotical content of her speech, I could just see her dispassionate facial expression. The music just drowned out the dialogue completely. Is it possible to hear the whole speech in the original?

Apart from that, I like the way the soundtrack music stops and starts throughout the film.

Why go on living when we can bury you for $49.50?

[–] Caddy_88 15 years ago

Hearing her speech is going to be difficult, because it was completely intended to be like that, which is why I am thankful for subtitles :)

[–] disturbances 15 years ago

It sounds like the dubbed version you saw on TV was censored by lowering the volume of her voice or cranking up the music. The music is supposed to fade in and out, it's never much louder than her voice, you can still hear her.

It's unfortunate, but I suppose I can understand why a TV network would want to censor that part. The things she talks about are pretty raunchy. I think they cut the scene entirely the first time I saw the film on Bravo years ago.

[–] twelvepointnine 15 years ago

I don't think it has to do with censorship, I assume it has to do with the technical aspect of dubbing dialogue in the soundtrack. The only way to censor Week End is by not showing it…

Fear is the mother of morality.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] sean_pak215 12 years ago

My guess is that it was intentional. I just came back from a screening of the new restoration, and her monologue was still drowned out occasionally by the soundtrack. We just have to accept that Godard was as unconventional in his sound design as he was visually.