What's up with Nobody's voice? I think it's superimposed with another one,isn't it? what about the rest?
A great movie!!!
Most Italian movies have the voices and sound effects put in after the film is made. Most of the cast in this film was either Italian, French, or German.The only one whom you hear is real voice is Henry Fonda's character Jack Beauregard.
"Stupid friends are dangerous".
There are lots of dubbed voices in this movie. Most obviously, as the other replier says, pretty much ALL except Henry Fonda, whom the dubbers supposed, would be the only voice known to American audiences.
But, if you know the voice the great character actor R.G. Armstrong [American], who's in tons of films of all types, but especially Westerns -- [he's in many Sam Peckinpah movies, EG: PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE, MAJOR DUNDEE, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY] -- if you know that voice, you'll realize that for whatever reason his was dubbed in this movie. As I recall [I could be wrong] I think there was a story at the time this movie came out in 1973 that he had throat cancer or something. I don't know if it was true, but that COULD conceivably explain why his voice was dubbed.
Also, there are several other well-known American character actors in the film: Geoffrey Lewis [uncredited, also a veteran character actor esp. in Westerns & with his bud Clint Eastwood. He's the father of Juliette Lewis. He's got 10 kids, I think five of whom are in the movie biz.] I seem to recall that his voice was dubbed, also.
Also, you've got the great, great Leo Gordon [also uncredited].
So, ALL but Fonda were apparently dubbed into English, and with the American character actors, apparently, dubbed from English into -- English.
Dubbing, of course was par for the course with Spaghetti Westerns, and as I've indicated, usually ALL even Americans, except for name talents they felt American audiences would recognize. Though, with some laughable results.
Dubbing in Italian movies has a long tradition. Typically, it is credited to filming in WWII-era/post-war Italy. Under Mussolini, it was illegal to shoot non-approved films, so the practice evolved to have the cameras hidden in scenery, on trucks, etc. The sound could always be dubbed in later and wasn't considered as integral to movie-making. If a film crew was stopped by the policy, the actors [make that "actors" as most were non-professionals] could just melt into the crowd, and the camera truck could just drive off. Obviously, nothing could draw more attention to a film shoot that boom microphones, etc. Those would be a bit harder to disguise since sound fidelity would be so critical if used.
These practices [eg, shooting wild, without sound, using non-actors, etc] so integral to Italian Neo-Realist cinema, carried over into the decades after, and still in use today. So, shooting without sound wasn't due to saving money. Consequently, wen it came to dubbing films into English, the Italians were well-prepared for it.
So do you (or anybody) know who's voice that is we're hearing for Nobody?
Could it be Terence Hill himself?
I know he got married to an american dialogue coach in the late 60s, so by the time he did this movie he could have been fluent in english?...
Do you also happen to know, how they shot the scenes? Were all (or most) actors saying their dialogue in english?
Thanks for any help.
By the way, I LOVE the movie (definitely in my all-time top 10). It's funny, grand, and that music!...
And I'm really stoked 'cause I just bought the DVD two days ago, always wondering if it was ever going to be available...no extras though :(
But great transfer :)
Cheers,
AA
I don't remember well ( I have to watch the film again) but I believe that Terence Hill was speaking (=moving his lips) in both languages during the shot. When he counts the members of the Wild Bunch killed by Fonda in the saddle-dynamite scene, it' s very clear that he is saying "one two three four...".When he asks for a horse from R G Armstrong to delivere the bomb to Fonda, his lips are saying "cavallo".
shareI just saw MNIN again tonight on TV on ENCORE - WESTERNS [part of the STARZ cable package]. Geoffrey Lewis was definitely dubbed by someone else.
Several voices of American actors are re-dubbed by others. From English to English. Sir Christopher Frayling, author of works on spag Westerns & most recently, involved with the current tribute to Sergio Leone at the Gene Autry Museum here in Los Angeles, said that ALL voices are dubbed, as is typical of spag Westerns. During filming, the Italians spoke Italian, the Spanish spoke Spanish, and you guessed it, the Americans spoke English. Then it was all re-dubbed for the appropriate markets by [sometimes] the actors themselves, often if they weren't available [or were considered unrecognizable talents] by others.
For more info on the must-not miss Leone tribute, see:
http://www.museumoftheamericanwest.org/explore/exhibits/leone/events.php
It's at the Autry Museum June 30 - Jan 22, 2006.
Exhibit includes screenings of Leone's films.
Another must-see [or buy on DVD] is the restored version of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. Of note here is the dubbing for the restored sequences. Eastwood and Wallach did their own dubbing. Lee Van Cleef passed away some years ago, so they had to hire a sound-alike. All the dubbing is very noticeable, not exactly flawlessly done, which, ironically, is in keeping with the tradition of Italian spaghetti Western dubbing. Eastwood & Wallach -- in their 70's and 80's respectively -- imagine re-dubbing your scenes 40 years later!
All month, ENCORE - WESTERNS is showing MNIN and Leone's spaghetti Westerns, along with a few other spag. oddities. The other day I saw a real cheap-o, ROY COLT & WINCHESTER JACK [a real oddity, considering that it was directed by the great Mario Bava, better known for his Italian horror films]. Unintentionally funny. Plus, it was subtitled! Guess they didn't even have a fistfull of dollars to dub this one into English. A nice touch is that I think ALL of these spags are letterboxed!
http://westerns.encoremedia.com/appmanager/seg/s?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=online_schedule
and
http://www.encoretv.com/appmanager/seg/e?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=encore_westerns
I don't think Terence Hill dubbed himself in MNIN, for one reason: he was always dubbed, in Italian too(ecluding several times). The first time you can hear his real voice is in the TV show don Matteo, where he plays the main character, speaks Italian with a strong American accent and plays the role of a priest that loves investigating in murders...That'e terrfying, but really sucessful here in Italy.
shareI think TH's native tongue is/was Italian, so no surprise, but that sure is HF's distinctive voice!
garyrbeck
San Francisco,CA.
Yes, Hill eas born as Mario Girotti in Venice. I know very well the original Henry Fonda's voice, even if the italian dvds of this movie, and C'era una volta il West, don't feature English tracks, but only Italian, sob.
shareSERGIO LEONE SAID That all the dialogue in his films was intended to be vague,no matter what nationality the actor,and sparse ,because,they HAD to be dubbed into
ITALIAN
FRENCH
GERMAN
ENGLISH
SPANISH
So,sometimes the actor's line was English or italian or a mushmouth mix of both,!!