MovieChat Forums > La marche de l'empereur (2005) Discussion > French language narration vs. English la...

French language narration vs. English language narration

posted 19 years ago by turkeycat
74 replies | jump to latest

I watched this film last night in the English language version with Morgan Freeman's narration.

I see from the film info on imdb that the French language version is narrated by Charles Berling and Romane Bohringer.

Could someone tell me their opinion of the French version as opposed to the US one? Has anyone seen both who can compare them? (I don't really enjoy Freeman's voice-overs and was wondering if the original voices were better).

Also, was the script in the different versions a direct translation, or was it altered for different national audiences?

Thanks.

[–] nuno tudela 18 years ago

Thank god it exists two diferent approaches, point of views, narratives or else - for people could choose. Personally, I'm for the original version, beacause it was the one that was shown in Portuguese theatres. What I desagree it's the commercial policy of distribution. If it's possible to put on a DVD several audio versions, I dont understand why there isn't any version of this film with the so called american version as well the original...

Anyway, it's great this polemics around the film. This kept the discution alive for about a year... isn't it wonderful? I believe Luc Jacquet fell it too.

[–] Sandwich_Boy 18 years ago

I dont want to see the french version purely because Morgan Freeman is one of the best narrators ever. I could listen to his voice for hours, and i have.

Tell it to me
Drink the corn liquor,
let the cocaine be

[–] JohnnyBravado 18 years ago

Freeman is, and always will be the best narrator, case closed.

LUIGI'S A FOOTBALL!!!!!!!
--kissdude

[–] sergio_lv13 18 years ago

I Watched this a couple of nights ago in french with the thgree points of view (male penguin, female one and baby one). I After watching it like that i would hate to hear only mrogan freemans voice!! wHY Did they have to change it

[–] JohnnyBravado 18 years ago

[sarcasm]Because some people like music compared to what is called pop.[/sarcasm]

LUIGI'S A FOOTBALL!!!!!!!
--kissdude

[–] ganstaman56 18 years ago

why would you want to listen to something you can't understand?

[–] martyn-pope 18 years ago

hi there,

Please can someone help me, i once had a version of this film, it was the french version, however i was able to select english audio via the DVD player, and it wasn't morgan freeman commentary but another voice can anyone confirm this? or better still point me in the direction of a copy?

i did buy the french verison from CD-WOW but it only had the french audio

Many thanks in advance

Martyn

[–] elay145 18 years ago

I' ve seen La marche de l'empereur in English and French, and if it matters to someone i've seen it in Spanish too. I almost cry in every version.

I like a little bit more the music in the English version and I like Bohringer's narration. Though, there is some diferences in what they say; on the last part for example the english version says: they probably wouldn't see each other again. In the french one the mother says something like: let's promise we'll meet next year again, to dance and maybe get married for another year. Which one do you prefer to hear?

[–] trillianprefect 18 years ago

I've seen spanish, english and french versions
Spanish and French version are the best at least to me.
English version were too boring.
why, gringos why??
such a horrible version!!

[–] coolMatthias1 18 years ago

You know what people.......

If you like Morgan Freeman, the Discovery Channel and Documentary Music - Watch the American version...

If you like French, sentimental Original Versions and Björk - Watch the French version.

Both have their moments and both can be easily enjoyed.

[–] SnydleyDownDeep 12 years ago

coolMatthias1 sums it up nicely. I found the narration in the French version to be much more poetic--a love story between the male and female. I like Discovery Channel documentaries as well as Morgan Freeman's narration, but I found the French take on the narration very beautiful.

However, the French version's music was horrible. Most of it was just sickly pop by a screachy singer. But the scene where the chicks face their first blizzard was very disharmonious--the narrators mention the danger, the video shows them getting pummeled by a blizzard, and screachy singer is singing something upbeat. WTF? Oh, and she sings in English, on the French version, so I'm not sure how much of her "poetic" singing is coming through to the intended audience. The producers must have owed her a favor because I can't imagine she was selected for her talent.

In the end, each version is a very different experience. Which is good.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] NewDeep 18 years ago

There's a new parallel English dub by actor Amitabh Bachchan
http://www.therewindforums.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20031

[–] Al_Truist80 13 years ago

Freeman's narration is rubbish. Case closed.

[–] InglouriousSister 11 years ago

I just saw this on TV so didn't really have a choice in which language to choose from, so I saw the dubbed in Finnish version (we almost never dub anything but children's movies but maybe this went to the "nature document" category and got dubbed.) I really enjoyed it. I speak both English and French so it would be interesting to see either one to compare, but the Finnish one had different voices for the male, female and baby penguins and was from the Penguins' POV too.

[–] j-cusick 11 years ago

i really dislike the french version.

the penguins have hard tough noble lives. the documentary aspect is more suited to their story. they dont talk and we dont need to pretend to know what they are thinking. its dumbing down the realities. watch happy feet if you want talking penguins.

i love the soundtrack by alex wurman and the narration by morgan freeman it gives you space to imagine what the pengins may "think" or it just lets you take in the harshness that these animals endure. i had a lot of respect for these animals after the film i cannot take it seriously with the silly talky version and whiny soundtrack of the french version

[–] GreyHunter 10 years ago

Wasn't wild about the French version, myself. As a narrative device, the assignation of voices to non-humans in a documentary-style film (which the basic cinematography was) seemed cheap and almost reeked of the very sentimentality that many post-modern French claim to disdain. The soundtrack was okay, just different from the English version. That was mostly just an atmospheric choice, and one can enjoy either version, or both.

Ultimately, though, regardless of one's personal preference, the choice to go with the narrative perspective via Morgan Freeman worked exactly as the filmmakers intended...the American box office accounted for 60% of the total gross on the film, so it was a financial decision to appeal to the tastes of American audiences and their love of documentaries, and it paid off.