MovieChat Forums > Hindenburg: The Last Flight Discussion > What a terrible film; all the dialogue i...

What a terrible film; all the dialogue is over-dubbed, badly.


Robert Wise's 1975 version was bad, but this is worse; the VFX are obviously better, but the script, plot and dialogue here are just rock-bottom awful.

It's clear almost from the beginning that most of the dialogue is over-dubbed, even though the actors' lip-movements match the words. The American/English-speaking actors sound better and more natural than the German actors. What I think happened here, and this is just a guess, is that the film was shot in both German and English, with alternate takes of each scene in each language; the German actors and actresses spoke their lines in English for the English takes, but either their accents were too thick or they didn't actually speak English so they were just uttering the words phonetically without understanding them (as an English-speaking American might read aloud words written in a foreign language that he does not speak or understand). Hence the lines were later over-dubbed by voice actors who spoke better English, although the result is still pretty awful. Again, that's just a guess, but the dialogue is so obviously over-dubbed and sounds so bad that I can't think of any other reason for it.

reply

I *wondered* what was going on here! When the movie began (I just watched on the Encore movie channel) I thought I must be watching a German film dubbed in English, but later it seemed that the characters were speaking naturally. Often, though, Kroger's lines sound so stilted in delivery that I went back to my first theory. As another poster remarked, the modern rock music at the beginning and end of the film was jarring enough almost to ruin it. Too bad: there were so many interesting shots of the zeppelin and dazzling VFX, as you say. I often marvel at how Hollywood (and its foreign counterparts) can spend so much $$ on costumes, sets, etc. but can't find a decent writer anywhere...?

"I've loved you my whole life."
"You've only known me three days."
"That's when my life began."

reply

Yeah, I was looking forward to watching this but the music in the beginning took me out of the period---I mean, 90s pop/soft rock music? Really? That killed it for me.




reply

I agree. I'm only into the first ten minutes or so of the movie and may not finish it. First off, the theme music--in my mind--is totally inappropriate for a late-1930a setting. The dialogue is too 2000s. Everyone should be speaking at least with a German accent, even if I have to read subtitles. Doesn't catch the beauty and charm of George C. Scott's epic.

reply

The film's production values reflect the tastes of its director and producers... all German. In other words, this is how they do it over there, not over here. The actors' voices were re-recorded because some executive, likely over here, decided that the accents made the dialogue unintelligible. I would like to know if the German television audience watching either a dubbed or subtitled version of this film had similar complaints.

As to its overall merits, well... let's be honest. It doesn't have Pauly Shore, or Owen Wilson, or Adam Sandler in it, so just how bad can it possibly be?

reply

I agree with all the points here.

The dialog is just plain stilted and weird.

Many of the German characters speak with English accents-- it's just.... odd.

I originally thought it must be an English production but no, it's German.

And the music? yes, a little off putting.

I always liked the George C. Scott version-- and the interiors depicted in that movie were very accurate. Not so much in this film.

AE36

reply

The dubbing is absolutely jarring - the speech mannerisms sound like the english dubbing you hear in Japanese movies - I'm going to guess it was the same company (or at least the same voice actors?)

--
Philo's Law: To learn from your mistakes, you have to realize you're making mistakes.

reply