Melanie Griffith's German
Does anyone know if Melanie Griffith speaks German as such, or if she merely learnt all the lines without knowing the language?
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MovieChat Forums > Shining Through (1992) Discussion > Melanie Griffith's German
This movie is impossible to watch for anyone who speaks German. Melanie's character supposed to speak with a perfect Berlin accent - not even close. She sounds like an American tourist with some knowledge of German. Watch the 1946 classic "The Third Man" instead. All German (Viennese dialect)speaking characters are played by top Austrian actors.
shareWell, I would not go as far as 'impossible to watch'. However, only two or three of the actors were obviously native German speakers like Ronald Nitschke who played Horst Drescher. Sandra Bullock could have taken Melanie Griffith's part as she is really half German.
share"Sandra Bullock could have taken Melanie Griffith's part"
You gotta be *beep* joking...
Other than Ronald Nitschke, there were Mathieu Carrère, Constanze Engelbrecht and Hansi Jochmann among the German cast. I think Mathieu Carrère is bi-lingual (German & French).
shareSome of the German she speaks is at least grammatically correct. Nevertheless, her rendition is appalling (I am a native speaker of German, so I know). Some other lines are just complete gibberish (the scene where the interviewer has to remind her to speak English). Overall, they could have done much better by either dubbing her German lines or choosing an actor with native speaker ability altogether. I usually like Melanie Griffith, but this wasn't her strongest performance.
shareI only had two years of German in high school way back in 1978-1979 and even I thought she sounded horrid. I sounded bettter than she did on my first day of class.
shareI'd have to agree with previous posters. Her German was atrocious. I was pretty darned impressed with Joely Richardson's accent. Melanie had zero inflection and no attempt to sound remotely German. Even Liam sounded better, trying to tamp down his native Irish brogue.
And, is it just me, or does Melanie usually deliver her lines speaking slowly, almost klutzing along with her words?
I saw this again today, and I almost expected to see cue cards on the side. Melanie basically phoned in this performance. Was something going on in her personal life that may have affected her acting? She's usually much better in her roles.
Drugs? Could we at least blame it on drugs??? Otherwise, I'm thinking her mom's fame opened a few too many doors for her.
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