It was just stupid the way that they were always grabbing at the ear phones when they were all speaking English. I think that they should have used subtitles or gotten rid of the ear phones. Anyone else agree? Great film other wise though!
shareI think your suggstion of subtitles has some merit, the elimination of the earphones has none.
Subtitles could have been used with a group of different actors spaking authentic German. This would still have required the use of the earphones or you'd have people arguing in english/german and pretending to understand one another. With subtitles you would have had a different movie not to mention those that would not have gone to see it because of the subtitles.
(If you are confused reading what I just wrote, don't fret I was confused writing it)
The way the English/German aspect was handled in the movie was perfect. I thought it brought the English viewer closer to understanding the mechanics of what went on in the courtroom... understanding there was a language devide ... yet not burdening the viewer with the hurdle of subtitles
" Three can keep a secret, if two are dead "
I thought it was a bit silly as well.
If you're going to have headphones but everything is in English, then I think it detracts from the realism from the proceedings. As such, it breaks up the flow of the trial for the viewer because they are following the proceedings avidly, then are see headphones with no use.
I respectfully disagree. I thought the use of the "translation" and headphone use was a brilliant way of not dragging out an already long movie with translations. Subtitles are a way to go, but not widely used back then, and those do sometimes distract the viewer from what is actually going on in the scene.
Not that I might reading, I'm a huge silent film fan (so...uh...lots of reading!) but I do find with foreign films I miss some of the gorgeous cinematography (Amalie comes to mind) by having to do so much reading.
The abrupt cut-off of the translation and the defense attorney's English is a great transition and helps the viewer understand what the deal is. Unfortunately, if you come through after that (which my wife did) you're totally confused!
I agree with AppleCorp3.
Austrian Maximilian Schell's casting was perfect because he could speak German and we see the gimmick kicked off seamlessly with his opening statement. Definitely a time-saver for the movie that casts Americans in some key German roles.
Outside of the courtroom, everything else is explained outright or by a reasonable unstated assumption.
Mrs. Bertholt said that she and her husband spent two years in America. The chauffeur Schmidt and the housekeeping Halbestadts must have been screened for security criteria and the ability to communicate in English.
Most importantly, you can't have the leading prosecutor Colonel Lawson (who had been at his present assignment two years before the movie opened) not armed with the ability to communicate with the natives in their language.
If you have seen Inglorious Basterds, recall that restaurant scene and how it dragged on with the interpreter. But that was Tarantino's intention with his long talky scenes.
Billy Wilder Page, Play the Movie Smiley Game
www.screenwritingdialogue.com
Anyone who considers reading a 'Burden' or 'hurdle' is either dyslexic or mindblowingly lazy.
Having everyone speak English in this film was a terrible idea. Also eventually the movie does get rid of the earphones for large chunks of time, which leads to the extremely blatant, and confusing, goof of American characters (who have been established as not knowing German) speaking to German characters (who have been established as not knowing English) without the use of interpreters and without displaying any dificulty in understanding eachother. Just look at the ending where Tracy speaks to Schell and Lancaster outside of the courtroom without interpreters, when just minutes earlier we're shown that all of the Germans in the courtroom need to wear their earphones to understand Tracy's ruling.
Anyone who considers reading a 'Burden' or 'hurdle' is either dyslexic or mindblowingly lazybeing a person who loves to read, i have found most if not all the subtitled movies lacking the proper contrast (letter color against a similar colored background) not to mention the times you need to be the worlds fastest reader to keep up .. i guess there are people out there who are not as 'mindblowingly' sharp as you or i.
I agree with LesterFester and want to add that I enjoy reading books but I don't always have the chance to stop all activity to sit down and read. I enjoy TV and movies on TV because it gives me the chance to do other work and multi task. I even have a TV in the kitchen so I can listen to the TV and glance over at the screen every once in a while while I cook. I also read my mail,do stuff on my computer and do other work while I watch. I don't have the time to sit and stare at a TV without doing other work. Heck I even take apart my guns and clean them while I watch TV.
I also want to point out that there are some people that are not totally blind but have trouble seeing. They are able to see the images on the TV blurred but are not able to read the words. MY mother has the problem and she was very disappointed with the movie "The Passion of the Christ". She wanted to see the movie badly but had to wait till it was shown on HBO or Showtime, I had to read the subtitles to her through the entire movie which I could not do in a movie theater. That is the first and only time I did that.
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Celebrate diversity .22, .223, .25, 9mm, .32 .357, 10mm, .44, .45, .500
Its done perfectly.
If this film had used german actors and was subtitled it would have greatly taken away from the film. jumping from listening to english to reading subtitles is doing mental gymnastics and does sacrifice immersion for "authenticity" (which is a stupid thing to want considering Every film ever made is inauthentic), also you'd lose Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster's performances. and like a poster said above Stanley Kramer did use it as a visual motif of disruption and miscommunication.
I can't beleave that you don't know why the earphones used in the film. During the Real Trails, with so many diffrent languages they had interpiters for all persons involved with the cases. And you wore the earphones to hear the interpitation.
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I don't think you guys are getting it. They showed the defense attourney speaking German and halfway through he started speaking english. This is an accepted way to show that they are speaking German but we do not want to show this the entire time. (see The Hunt For Red October)
They did this for a couple reasons. First is what an earlier post said that people hate subtitles.
But more importantly it would totally throw off the flow and natural chemistry of the actors. Ultimately the film would not be as compelling. I think if anyone looks back they will see that the Americans were always using head phones when talking to German witnesses. THe defense attourney spoke American so that's why he could talk to Tracy at the end. Nothing wrong with showing the origional languages but one is not necessarily better.
It's like saying "oh The Merchant of Venice was BULL #@%& because all these Italians were speaking english" It's still good. It's not a documentary.
[deleted]
Please people learn something about history and filmmaking. It was more likely that Germans and many other educated Europeans knew English, than Americans being able to speak other languages fluently. Schell and Lancaster's characters could very likely have understood, at the least, conversational English, but needed the translaters during the trial due to technical terms being discussed, as well as to understand the fullness of a different language. Even world leaders today rely on trained, simultaneous translation when discussing world affairs with English only speakers in order to understand both the nuance of language and to be absolutely correct in translation.
The other important point is that the Americans conducting the trials did not understand how and why the judges in the dock behaved the way they did during the Nazi Regime. Listen to Tracy speak to Lancaster, he cannot believe that a man devoted to the law could have ever behaved as Lancaster did on the bench.
This film was made less than 20 years after the war ended and much was still not understood even then.
Years ago, I saw a little bit of the movie and didn't understand the headphones until I actually saw the whole movie this time. And, I think the treatment of the headphones (i.e. the fact viewers were to understand the person speaking was doing so in their native tongue, rather than having long bits of german and then translation) was actually quite clever.
I don't really see why the 'Germans' spoke English with an accent. I guess it made it more obvious to the viewers they were supposed to be German and speaking in their native tongue, but, they clearly showed them listening on the headphones to any English instruction or comment.
I guess that accent business just reminded me of Wonder Woman, where all the Germans speak English with an accent!
And to those who would question understanding English on the part of the Germans, yes, I agree they'd probably have a better command of the English Language than Americans would of German.
'There’s a name for you ladies, but it’s not used - Outside a kennel! (Crystal Allen in The Women)'
I've read most of the posts and this is still unclear to me:
Did Rolph switch to English in mid-setence or are we supposed to believe that he continued speaking German but from that moment on the film decides to show him speaking English for some reason, correct lip synch and all? If the latter, I don't know how you can call it "seamless". It's actually very distracting. And in this case, any two random people in a particular scene could have been speaking Japanese for all we know.
There is a camera movement (a zoom?) at the precise moment Rolfe begins speaking "English." This is to signal the audience that henceforth, the translations will be dropped and everyone will seem to speak English, but it is to be assumed that German characters are speaking German, except in out-of-courtroom settings opposite American characters. The exception being when Widmark confronts Garland and her husband in their home. I've always assumed he was speaking German to them. It should be assumed that the Dietrich character, being quite cosmopolitan, speaks fluent English. Tracy doesn't speak German.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
This is roughly the silliest thing I've ever heard. Used subtitles or gotten rid of the earphones. That's all well and good for us to see subtitles, but how does this help the characters surmount the language barrier? The headphones were necessary and also accurate.
sharegribfritz2 - exactly! Is there no imagination left in the movie viewing public?!? I get exasperated with threads like this. Get an imagination - not everything has to be explicit. Don't you realize the techniques used in film making? Ugh!
shareI agree it was clumsily handled and distracting.
shareYes, it was very distracting. I watched "The Longest Day" the other day and was delighted that French, German actors etc. were used and speaking their native languages. Very nice. I am Swedish but also speak German and understand some French. I understand that for most Americans it might not be as distracting that "everybody speaks English" but for me it is always, always going to be a big minus.