18 replies to this topic

[Tim007]

Just returned from the pre-premiere of Casino Royale in Germany, where the movie is about to open tomorrow.

Forgive me but I can't write a balanced review right now. There is so much to say to this film that I need some time to write something critical and praising up. So, here are my first impressions.

When I left the cinema after Die Another Day, I felt the need to cry. I had the feeling that this movie destroyed the whole franchise because I thought it to be so bad.

When I just left the cinema, I felt the need to cry as well. Because I'm so happy that the franchise is back to life.

4.5 out of 5 stars. In one line with my favourites, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me and Licence to Kill. Not one single Brosnan movie could set such a standard. One little downer: Craig needed to get used to. He's noch 100% James Bond for me right now. On the other hand, Roger Moore wasn't for me after Live and Let Die. But: In the very last scene, he definately became Bond.

This was pure entertainment. I never felt bored in these 144 minutes. This is a 'modern' Bond as I like him to be. An updated version of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, no Brozzy-studio-garbage.

Please, Babs and Micky, bring back Paul Haggis! The best dialogue scenes in years. Tomorrow my second viewing.

BOND IS BACK. WHAT A NIGHT.

[deth]

glad you enjoyed it.... I've said enough in other places... but i agree ... they definitely NEED Haggis.... or somebody of that calibur

[yolt13]

A good screenwriter is important, but let's not fall into the fanboy trap of crowning Haggis as the only guy who can do right by Bond. CR is a topnotch, five star Bond film, but I'm sure there are other writers who can deliver a similar quality entry if Haggis doesn't return.

[stamper]

This new movie fakin rules. Craig is Bond. There are so many classic scenes in there, you can"t count them. Vesper is no Tracy (Diana Rigg rules), but it's okay, we have more to come . I hope Craig does 5 minimum. With a wig, I don't care.

[LorneGuyland]

Wonderful first impressions; very similar to my own upon leaving the cinema last Thursday (opening night in the UK). Second viewing arranged, sans raucous mates, for tomorrow, and I'm chomping at the bit; all the excitement of the first time but without the 'what if it's a let-down?' nerves. And I'm going to try and squeeze in a Deutsch hattrick during a work trip to Dresden next week...

And I think you're spot on about Haggis; that Purvis and Wade cannot write at his level goes without saying, but alot of other screenwriters of Haggis's calibre simply do not have a 'feel' for this sort of material or do it on autopilot. Robert Towne's screenplay for MI2 is a case in point. Why gamble? Whichever way you slice it, the reason this movie can be regarded as the best in the series by a country -kicking is 75% due to the depth, style and zip of its writing. If EON have any sense (and I think they've shown that they do), they'll let The Hagmeister name his price.

[the villain's architect]

Totally agree with you, Tim.

Did you hate Solange's German voice, too?

[stromberg]

Totally agree with you, Tim.

Did you hate Solange's German voice, too?

Totally.

Craig's voice was perfect, as well as Green's.

Mathis was outstanding.

Had early problems with Le Chiffre, but got used to it.

Leiter wasn't too good, but Solange... no.

[kneelbeforezod]

So it's dubbed then? Is that normal for most countries? You'd think they would release a subtitled version.

For some silly reason, I feel quite proud that our English hero generates such excitement all over the world.

Is Bond big in Germany?

[dinovelvet]

So it's dubbed then? Is that normal for most countries? You'd think they would release a subtitled version.

For some silly reason, I feel quite proud that our English hero generates such excitement all over the world.

Is Bond big in Germany?

Yeah I believe so - isn't Germany the second biggest European market for Bond, behind the UK?

[stromberg]

So it's dubbed then? Is that normal for most countries? You'd think they would release a subtitled version.

Very few movies get a wider release in original language in Germany, not even with subtitles. Exceptions are 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' or 'Down by Law'. Only recently, bigger cinemas have started showing OVs - unlike France, where this has been popular for ages. On TV? Forget it. It was only after DVDs with several language tracks became available that people started watching them. Before that, you had to get British VHS tapes (US NTSC format was a no-no). Thank God,the German dubbing generally is quite good, those folks do a great job (most of the time).

For some silly reason, I feel quite proud that our English hero generates such excitement all over the world.

Bond is seen somewhat as an 'ambassador' for everything British (or English, if you prefer) just like The Queen, The Beatles or Big Ben

Is Bond big in Germany?

What dinovelvet said.

[kneelbeforezod]

Thanks for the info Stromberg... Funny how it's the reverse here, foreign films are always subtitled, never dubbed.

I guess that means you have no idea how Daniel Craig says "Bond... James Bond", it's quite strange.

[stromberg]

I guess that means you have no idea how Daniel Craig says "Bond... James Bond", it's quite strange.

Don't worry about that. Been to the Premiere in London and saw it again the next day

[kneelbeforezod]

I guess that means you have no idea how Daniel Craig says "Bond... James Bond", it's quite strange.

Don't worry about that. Been to the Premiere in London and saw it again the next day

ahhh I see. Are you German?

edit... just saw your sig, I think you might be Very good English

Edited by kneelbeforezod, 23 November 2006 - 02:50 AM.

[Qwerty]

Tim.

Kind of amazing this series can take such u-turns.

[Tim007]

Money-wise, Germany's the biggest cinema market within Europe, even bigger than the UK

[Melanie]

Funny how it's the reverse here, foreign films are always subtitled, never dubbed.

If I would have managed to catch the CR pre-view yesterday, I could post my first impressions. But now we are attending a screening next week. Ever since GoldenEye (the first Bond film I saw on the big screen) it's always my birthday week. And that's a treat.

Anyhow as I am another person, whose first language is German, I'd like to add my thoughts to the dubbing discussion.

You mention foreign films. How many of them hit the market each year? And are they popular? Subtitled Bollywood films?


I now prefer the original versions (TV shows/films), which is usually English. The fact is there are only so many good voice actors and the most annoying thing to me is two actors getting dubbed by the same voice. It doesn't occur in one film, but it can get confusing, because you sometimes sit trying to figure out were you have heard the voice before. And not only does the story and content lose a lot during the dubbing process, but some of the background noises get drowned out, sometimes the voices don't match, are too young, can't bring the humor, the timing.

I wish my theater would screen CR in English. But sadly no. Now you might wonder why? I have done some research on that. In the beginning the executives wondered how they could present talkies to the audience and had i.e. Laurel & Hardy do their films in German, so it was the actual actors speaking broken German. There used to be subtitles, but as opposed to CH or NL that never really took off. In the 1930s MGM etc. even opened their own voice actor's studio here and a routine settled in. After WWII a wave of motion pictures in English got screened at theaters, but people couldn't understand anything and didn't go to the movies anymore. And till this day most people don't like to read at the bottom of the screen and miss almost all of the action. The studios and TV channels caved in to the demands. I guess they didn't want to miss out on the money. But it's a catch-22. All European countries that "do" subtitles educate the people from a very early age on and a lot are fluent in English. Learning by watching. But Germans or Italians or French are just lazy and used to dubbing I suppose. LOL

They write a script. They go out of their way to find matching voices. I wish it were so. LOL The accents usually disappear. Terrible, but only if you know what the original is like. And most people don't care and never compare. I mean they even overdub some lines that might offend Germans. Talk about censorship. And it doesn't really help that the voice actors are not on the set, but in a tiny studio with no connection to the real action whatsoever. I regularly laugh out loud when I catch the voice actor trying to burst out in anger or scream, but it gets too loud as opposed to the original and it is just embarrassing.

In some Eastern European countries it sometimes occurs that one person narrates an entire film (male /female) and doesn't really care about lip-synching etc, so I guess our average dubbing isn't the worst, but it also isn't the real deal. But that's just me. Thank God for original DVDs with the English audiotrack. I know I am going to be utterly confused by the German CR voices, as I have already watched the trailer in English.

[kneelbeforezod]

Very interesting Melanie.

I guess if I were to make a really broad generalisation... In the UK, the foreign films we get tend to lean more towards the art-house type of film. Consequently, the audience for those films here are much more tolerant of subtitles.

That said, even the foreign films that do cross over to a mass market audience here, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or Amelie, would still always be subtitled.

I do feel sorry for you though, I would hate to not be able to hear the original actors' voices.

Edited by kneelbeforezod, 23 November 2006 - 03:07 PM.

[pat006]

daniel has a great voice ,what a pity it is to miss his performance in a dubbed version!!
but that treatment is restricted to europe only ,here in argentina and latin america all foreign films are subtitled, the audience would feel cheated if a bondfilm would be released in a dubbed version!!
only animated features for children are dubbed in spanish ,and the distibutors make sure they release an original english version as well for the audience to enjoy robin williams or any other star performing the voices of the charachters

[blueman]

A good screenwriter is important, but let's not fall into the fanboy trap of crowning Haggis as the only guy who can do right by Bond. CR is a topnotch, five star Bond film, but I'm sure there are other writers who can deliver a similar quality entry if Haggis doesn't return.

Very true. And if Haggis doesn't return, a hearty thank you for setting such a high bar for the next guy.