Warner Bros: So repsonsive and helpful (sarcasm)

[searching girl]

to cornholio1980:
but it┤s seems to be only the english version, for the german version I can┤t even find a release date. BTW, www.amazon.de release date seems to be 15.11.04 for the english version
Bye
searching girl

[Towelmaster]

I shall be seriously pissed off if this turns out to be the case.

To WB : Get On With It!!!

[Towelmaster]

Originally posted by searching girl
to cornholio1980:
but it┤s seems to be only the english version, for the german version I can┤t even find a release date. BTW, www.amazon.de release date seems to be 15.11.04 for the english version
Bye
searching girl

This really really really has nothing to do with Germany itself, but...

Oh mein Gott im Himmel!

"Spacecenter Babylon-5 - Waffenbruder" !!!
"Spacecenter Babylon-5 - Das Tor zur 3. dimension" !!!

<insert-random-puke-smiley here>


Ever since I heard John Wayne say 'Hande Hoch Sheriff!!" and I heard Richard Burton talk German with a so-called English accent I think there should be a law against translating english voicetracks into german.

Those poor German people just don't know what can be 'Lost in Translation'... ;-)

[searching girl]

to towelmaster:
That┤s the reason, why I┤ve started to see each DVD twice times (minimum). First in german, to understand, what happens in the film. Then a second time in english (original) with english subtitles and a good dictionary and the finger over the break button of...(remote control?).
It┤s fine to learn english and the voices of the actors are normally 1000x better as the german voices. Have You ever heard the german voice of Bruce Boxleitner? He has a `cute┤voice, without any similarity (?) to the original, brrrrhhhhh And they had made very strange mistakes in the translation, sometimes is the meaning far away from the film!
Bye
searching girl

[Towelmaster]

Originally posted by searching girl
to towelmaster:
That┤s the reason, why I┤ve started to see each DVD twice times (minimum). First in german, to understand, what happens in the film. Then a second time in english (original) with english subtitles and a good dictionary and the finger over the break button of...(remote control?).

Well I'm slightly deaf so I always have the subtitles turned on, and always in English. Now it's easy for me to speak because I work for International IT-companies, I have an English fiancee, 90 % of the books I read since I was 9 were in English, etcetera. I have an English-fetish or something... ;-)

But it is not so much the translation of the voiceparts that gets to me(although it sounds absolutely ghastly if you're heard the original). It is more the fact that - as you already noted - the meaning of the original wording is lost so often it makes your head spin, especially in the case of subtle programs like B-5 that is inexcusable. I have the DVD's so I can listen to the foreign translations but I could never bring myself to listen G'Kar saying something profound in German(or French, or whatever...). Too much is lost.

It┤s fine to learn english and the voices of the actors are normally 1000x better as the german voices. Have You ever heard the german voice of Bruce Boxleitner? He has a `cute┤voice, without any similarity (?) to the original, brrrrhhhhh And they had made very strange mistakes in the translation, sometimes is the meaning far away from the film!
Bye
searching girl

I understand that a limited group of people does all the translating for German TV. That's how you could hear John Wayne en Clint Eastwood sounding exactly the same! :-)

Hell, I wouldn't even want to hear Londo in Dutch!!

[Ben-Thayer Dunnthaedt]

And they had made very strange mistakes in the translation, sometimes is the meaning far away from the film!

That happens a lot. Try watching Japanese anime with the subtitles, sometimes the two are SO different it's laughable!

Has anyone seen Fantastic Planet? The DVD has the subtitles turned on permanently, and they do NOT match the dialogue. VERY distracting it is.

[AmyG]

The last time I saw Fantastic Planet, I don't even think DVDs had been invented yet!

[Ben-Thayer Dunnthaedt]

I have the VHS version, and its got the damned subtitles turned ON. When I read that the new DVD release had the same thing, NOT interested. But that film is RADICAL. I'm whistling the theme even as I type this.......

[Towelmaster]

Originally posted by Ben-Thayer Dunnthaedt
I have the VHS version, and its got the damned subtitles turned ON. When I read that the new DVD release had the same thing, NOT interested. But that film is RADICAL. I'm whistling the theme even as I type this.......

Well then that would probably be because they just copied the video to DVD... Happens all the time. Only goes to show how much detail has gone in the B5-DVD's. Except for the sturdiness of the packaging that is...

[Dr Maturin]

Originally posted by Towelmaster
Well then that would probably be because they just copied the video to DVD... Happens all the time. Only goes to show how much detail has gone in the B5-DVD's. Except for the sturdiness of the packaging that is...

I doubt that WB makes the packaging.

The plant I work in makes tortillas for hundreds of Taco Bell (owned by Pepsi) restaurants, and my company could be considered competition with Pepsi.

WB probably pays Weyerhaeuser to make the packaging and if they get the kind of service we get from said company, no wonder the B5 packaging isn't sturdy.

[cornholio1980]

Originally posted by searching girl
to cornholio1980:
but it┤s seems to be only the english version, for the german version I can┤t even find a release date.

Well, usually they are the same...

Concerning the german dubbing of Babylon 5: Yes, I also prefer the original version, and they did make some pretty bad mistakes (for example, in "Babylon Squared" the woman besides Sinclair has NOT Delenn's voice)... but the voice acting was quite good, especially Joachim Tennstedt who spoke Sheridan - I always liked his voice and think that he did an excellent job...

[Towelmaster]

Yes, I know it doesn't hurt to include other voice-tracks, but why on Earth would anyone replace the carefully casted actors' voices by default? These actors have also been cast for their voices(I can't bear to think of Lord Refa or Londo in Dutch or Finnish or something. "Kom Londo, het noodlot wacht!"...

Besides; all voice-synchronisation sucks by definition. But I may be spoiled here in Holland as we don't use it). I have a preference for people who speak and move their lips at the same time...

With the current educational system people should be able to understand the English version or be able to read the subtitles in English nowadays. Hell; the language of the internet is English and most people have an online connection nowadays(I am speaking of Region-2 here btw, Europe and the likes).

On the upside : I do love DVD though because the producers can just add all the foreign language tracks as extras. For me that is definitely some of the extra value of DVDs over videos. But please leave the original in tact and alone thank you... Also: in the olden days, when I bought a video in England it would never be subtitled. Now I can basically just select any language I like. So I can buy DVD's anywhere in Europe and still have all the subtitles etcetera. No more media specifically for France, Germany or Holland...

Cornholio: my comparison to WB was only a vague one I admit. But the actual production of the master-copy of the DVD is really in the hands of/the responsibility of the owning company.

B-5 is done very carefully with edited sequences, cleaned up soundeffects, loads and loads of subtitles, extra features, commentaries, etcetera etcetera. But from experience I know that there are an awful lot of companies who just take - let's say - French version of a movie and copy the tape as it was shown on tv. Which was already a copy of a copy of a copy of a....

Hey; it's cheaper! Unfortunately you only find out after you have arrived home and inserted the crappy disc...

[cornholio1980]

Good news: Seems the release date on play.com was a mistake. At least, the GERMAN B5 box was announced today for a november 21th release - usually the release dates in Germany and England are about the same.

[Towelmaster]

Excellent! You made my day!