MovieChat Forums > La sindrome di Stendhal (1996) Discussion > the English dubbed version

the English dubbed version

posted 18 years ago by Falconeer
9 replies | jump to latest

The English dubbing for this film has got to be the most wretched, hilarious botch job ever. The character Asia was playing was a cop. So why did they hire Minnie Mouse to do her voice over??? When she flashed her badge to the security guard and said "Get on that walkie talkie or lose your job". she sounded like Jennifer Tilly on helium. It seems like they purposely set out to destroy this film for release in the states. I actually couldnt finish watching this because of the voice that sounded so utterly out of place here. I recommend the italian language dvd. I can't even tell if this is a good film without seeing the original version. This english dub version is unwatchable, especially if you are a fan of Asia Argento. I'm sure she would cringe if she heard how stupid they made her sound here. They gave her the voice of an airheaded bimbo!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Falconeer 18 years ago

No, that is most definitely not the voice of Asia Argento, the bimbo who did the voice over sounds nothing like Asia, who by the way, speaks English with an Italian accent, unlike the girl who did her voice in Stendhal Syndrome. Have you even seen this movie? I cannot imagine anyone hearing that voice and thinking it's really belonging to Asia Argento.

[–] Lu_tz 17 years ago

I have the French DVD with English language. Is it the same dub for all the versions? I didn't notice anything that bad about the dub and Asia sounded a lot like I remember her sounding in other movies (XXX!).

[–] Falconeer 17 years ago

If you hear Asia's voice in "Scarlet Diva", or "B. Monkey", it is a strong voice, very tough, even a little scratchy at times, like someone who enjoys a stiff bourbon drink from time to time! And the rather thick Italian accent when she speaks English is so beautiful. Asia's voice and her style of speaking is half of her allure. In the version of "Stendhal Syndrome" that I saw, her voice sounds like it was dubbed by Minnie Mouse, some stereotyped 'airhead blonde' style. That voice could not be further away from the real voice of Asia, and it ruined that film for me. If you are a fan of this film, or of Asia Argento, it is well worth the effort to seek out the 2 disc dvd from Italy, which features both the awful dubbed version, (which has also been cut by almost 10 minutes!), and the definitive full-length version, in original Italian with English subtitles. Also this dvd has the absolute best picture quality available for this rare title.

[–] Stay_away_from_the_Metropol 13 years ago

You must not be very familiar with Italian films in general.

It was standard practice in Italy for decades to do voice overdubs for every single film they shot. On top of that, the primary versions of the films were always the ones with English overdubs - the characters were speaking English when they shot the film - the audio just wasn't captured then. So, the version you can't stand watching is actually the original version of the movie - the way it's meant to be seen.

Have you not seen any other Dario Argento movies before? This is how they all feel. It's actually kind of one of the main characteristics that gives his films their strange, surreal feel. I've grown to love it.

Last but not least, I think it's funny that you particularly brought up Asia's "Get on that walkie talkie or lose your job" line because I specifically recall thinking that was one of her best lines/deliveries in the entire film. I gotta say - I am a pretty huge Asia lover and I absolutely do believe that was her own voice in the movie. I know what she sounds like - and that sounded like her. It's pretty obvious that for the male characters, they had a lot of different/unfitting voice actors, but there is no way Dario/Asia would hire someone else to do Asia's voice acting when they're father/daughter and have the creative power to be involved with their own films as much as they like.

[–] Falconeer 13 years ago

The Italian language version is definitely Asia's voice; why would she not dub her own voice when she is fluent in Italian? I'm also a huge Asia Argento fan. That English overdub did not sound like her; and it had absolutely NO trace of an Italian accent. And if you are a fan then you know she can't hide that sexy Euro accent, even when she plays an American (The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things) her accent could be heard under the fake Southern dialect. I just don't believe that is her voice; Her real, undubbed voice can be heard in B. Monkey and Scarlet Diva; it couldn't sound more different than the one used in Stendahl..

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

[–] gomezfan69 13 years ago

Fact 1: Asia Argento dubbed her own lines in the Italian version.
Fact 2: For the English version, the dubbing director Nick Alexander, felt that Asia Argento and Thomas Krestchmann’s English wasn’t good enough and had their voices replaced. Which is actually pretty obvious if you ask me.

[–] Falconeer 13 years ago

I realised that the first time i saw this at age 13. Knowing nothing of Asia Argento at the time, it still was obviously not her voice. I wonder why this "fan" doesn't realise. Asia's voice is sexy and husky; that girl sounded like Betty Boop.

"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'

[–] 13 years ago

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